"Luckiest Gal in All 9 Realms"

Natalie Portman has achieved across-the-board appeal with roles in films like the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Closer, V For Vendetta, Black Swan, and Thor. Now the 32 year-old reprises her role as love interest Jane Foster in Thor: The Dark World.

Part of the appeal of Thor is the sibling rivalry between the hero, played by Chris Hemsworth, and his brother Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston. Portman gave little doubt to which side she would support.

“Oh, what kind of woman would I be if I didn’t say Team Thor?” Natalie states.

One major difference this time out is that Jane gets to do more. Natalie talks about what it was like to have her come between Thor and Loki’s world more this time around.

“It was exciting to get to come back and work with everyone, and meet people who were joining this time and also, because Jane gets to go to Asgard this time,” Portman says, “I was lucky enough to get to work more with Tom [Hiddleston], and to have scenes with Rene [Russo] and Anthony [Hopkins], too, were amazing, and I just go to admire from afar, and then also just continue the fun rapport, with Kat [Dennings] and Stellan [Skarsgard]and Chris, and it was definitely a lot of laughing, maybe too much laughing on set.”

Thor: The Dark World was shot in Surrey in England. Portman was asked to compare what it’s like shooting in England and shooting in Hollywood.

“It’s hard to compare because we don’t really shoot in Hollywood at all,” she replies, “I love working here, though, and I’m envious of British actors and British crews, because American and I guess Australian actors, too, we end up like gypsies, you know, from movie to movie or moving cities all the time.”

“And you can really have such a fulfilling, wonderful rich career doing, between the theatre, the TV here, and the film, all in London,” Natalie continues, “It’s pretty, pretty cool to get

"Luckiest Gal in All 9 Realms"

to live and work in the same place.

Natalie was asked how she and the rest of the cast manage to ground their performances with characters in such a fantasy-based world.

“The humor,” Portman answers, “The fact that the characters are going through, even though they’re traveling between realms, are going through things that we can all relate to. For myself, playing a woman who the guy didn’t call back and disappeared, and there’s a long distance thing going on, and then when it works out, she meets the parents, you know, those are all things that, obviously, most women can relate to.”

“Of course, I’m the mortal among the gods and villains near me,” she adds, “So, I guess that’s naturally more grounded. But a lot of the issues they had us was dealing with were, were human. I mean, even the brothers, I feel like that’s so relatable as humans.”