Thor 4: Natalie Portman and her big arms… 10 months of muscle training!

She’s making a colossal return to Marvel: Natalie Portman not only takes on the role of Jane Foster in Thor: Love And Thunder, but also slips into the skin of the Mighty Thor with plenty of muscle. Jane Foster was first introduced to Thor in 2011, then in Thor: The Dark World, but she wasn’t in Thor: Ragnarok.

To announce her return, Natalie Portman went to Comic-Con and brandished Mjolnir, Thor’s famous hammer, which will be her accessory in Thor: Love And Thunder. And in order to play the superhero incarnation of Mighty Thor, the actor had to undergo an impressive physical training.

Ten months of training and a precise diet

in the interview varietyNatalie Portman explained that it took ten months of hard work to develop the muscles in her arms and shoulders. And this training, which began in the fall of 2020, was a great experience for the actor:

“It was a fun experience. I had a great coach, Naomi Pendergast. I also learned a lot from watching Chris because he obviously knows a lot and works very hard. It was obviously a lot of work with the magic of Marvel, of course. Because my character is being transformed into a movie , so there is a before and after that is shaped by the magic of movies.

But I really wanted him to walk differently, and I thought he wanted to act a little macho, at least in the way you imagine a superhero should act. “

His coach Naomi Pendergast said about it Insider Natalie Portman’s program to have a Mighty Thor build and specifically to have well-muscled arms: “Natalie’s original goal was to have high and strong arms, but we quickly realized that her role was much more than her looks.

Natalie had to do some stunts that required her body to be flexible and very strong, so this also became a focus in our practice sessions to ensure she could perform her stunts without injury and recover quickly after a day of stunts.

Therefore, the actor followed intense physical training, but not only. The actor followed a strict diet. The vegan actor changed his calorie intake so he ate more calories so his body could build muscle mass:

“To determine her needs, Natalie took a metabolic test. It’s a test that gives you a very accurate reading of your daily caloric needs. From these numbers, we were able to calculate how many extra calories you need per day to build Natalie’s muscles. .”

For the rest, of course, there’s the magic of special effects — “from Marvel,” as Natalie Portman put it — and editing to give Mighty Thor the rest of his look with the suit. The actor would have to be 25cm taller to match Chris Hemsworth’s size.

This was only possible through special effects and certain tricks of the shots to increase its size and create an illusion. In addition to the CGI, the team built small elevated walkways on the sets specifically for the actor to appear taller.

Balancing exercise, a proper diet, and visual effects allowed Natalie Portman to build the Mighty Thor and carry the house in Thor: Love And Thunder.