Natalie Portman Reveals the Painful Injury She Suffered While Filming Black Swan

Natalie Portman went to great lengths to earn her Academy Award for the 2010 psychological thriller Black Swan. While appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show on January 28, the actress looked back at the grueling physical toll the role took on her body.

Portman admitted that she suffered a serious injury while portraying a ballerina who slowly loses her grip on reality, revealing that the constant physical demands of the production were far more intense than audiences might realize.

When asked about the most significant injury she faced on set, Portman explained that the repetitive nature of the choreography caused a frightening internal shift. I misplaced a rib or something, she shared, describing how the bone seemed to slip out of place. She noted that the injury was primarily caused by being lifted repeatedly during the complex dance sequences. It, like, went under, she added, calling the experience truly wild and physically taxing.

The physical preparation for the film was a massive undertaking that started long before the cameras began to roll. Former New York City Ballet dancer Mary Helen Bower, who trained Portman for the role, previously noted that the actress was incredibly dedicated to the process. To look like a real ballerina, Portman had to train like one, which meant sessions that lasted five hours a day for six days a week.

Her daily routine was a relentless cycle of exercise and filming. Portman would often meet her trainer as early as 5:00 in the morning for several hours of ballet before heading off to a twelve-hour workday on the movie set.

Once filming wrapped for the day, she would head back to the gym for toning exercises and a one-mile swim. Portman followed this exhausting schedule for months to ensure her movements were precise and convincing on screen.

As of January, Natalie Portman is back in the spotlight for a variety of major projects. She recently traveled to the 2026 Sundance Film Festival for the world premiere of her new dark comedy, The Gallerist.

In the film, which she also produced, she plays Polina Polinski, a platinum-blonde art dealer who gets caught up in a bizarre scheme to sell a dead body. The movie features a massive ensemble cast including Jenna Ortega, Sterling K. Brown, Zach Galifianakis, and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Do you think the extreme physical suffering Natalie Portman went through for “Black Swan” was worth the Oscar win, or should productions do more to protect actors from these kinds of injuries? Share your thoughts in the comments.