Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment WriterFor “Thor: Love and Thunder,” Natalie Portman is returning not only as Jane Foster — the brilliant astrophysicist and ex-girlfriend of Asgardian warrior Thor (Chris Hemsworth) — but as the Mighty Thor, Jane’s superhero persona when she comes into possession of the mystical hammer Mjolnir.Becoming a Marvel Studios hero meant Portman worked with a trainer for 10 months before and during shooting to build up her muscle mass in a way she’d never been asked to before.“I definitely got as big as I’ve ever been,” Portman explained for Variety‘s cover story. “You realize, ‘Oh, this must be so different, to walk through the world like this.'”Portman means that quite literally.
Along with getting her arms and shoulders as swole as humanly possible, Portman’s Mighty Thor also stands 6 feet tall — nearly 10 inches larger than Portman’s actual height. “As a 5-foot-3 woman, I don’t know that I’m ever going to be cast again as a 6-foot character,” Portman said with a laugh. “I really relished people seeing me as big.”To date, no one has figured out how an actor can safely elongate their body, so director Taika Waititi and his crew needed to figure out how to get Portman to the proper height for scenes in which she walked with her co-stars.
Read more on variety.com