Discover the incredible fitness journeys of Natalie Portman and her celebrity friends. From her intense training for “Thor: Love & Thunder” to Chris Hemsworth’s versatile workout routines, each slide reveals the secrets behind their stunning physiques. Learn how Scarlett Johansson’s admiration for Portman led to a powerful collaboration, and Mila Kunis’ advocacy for authenticity in the entertainment industry. Explore Eddie Redmayne’s candid discussion on managing anxiety, Tessa Thompson’s rigorous training schedule, and Jaimie Alexander’s inspiring transformation for the Thor films.
Natalie Portman did a lot of training to prep for her role in Thor: Love & Thunder. Her trainer, Naomi Pendergast, talked about her diet to Variety. “Natalie’s typical diet during filming would be a vegan-based breakfast of oats and berries plus a protein shake,” Pendergast said. “For lunch she would have a vegan falafel dish again with a protein shake, and for dinner, a vegan curry and protein shake. This amount of food was obviously way more than Natalie normally eats, but it was essential for her to maintain this throughout filming to keep the muscle she had developed.”
Chris Hemsworth and Portman have played love interests in the Thor films. Hemsworth shared how he stays in shape to play the title character with Men’s Health. “I add in a lot of other sorts of movement, flexibility and functional training. Bulk is nice, but being more agile is definitely important. I’ll do a ton of boxing or Muay Thai workouts. I surf a ton and I do a lot of yoga.”
Scarlett Johansson is one of Portman’s close friends. The two met on The Other Boleyn Girl set. In an interview, Johansson revealed that she wanted to meet Portman for a while. “A major part of why I joined the project, is because Natalie was involved. I’ve been a huge fan of Natalie’s for a long time, and I’ve always loved her choices and her performances. I’d never had the opportunity to work on such an even playing field with my peer. It was a great opportunity for both of us I think.”
Mila Kunis and Portman starred in Black Swan together. Since then, the two have developed a friendship. In an interview with Glamour, Kunis went bare-faced, and talked about the importance of not using photoshop and editing. “There was a company that I did a photo shoot for once that manipulated the photo so much, I was like, ‘That’s not even me.’ Like, what’s the point? You wanted my name, and then you wanted the version of me that I’m not. I absolutely hate it. Now, do I sometimes want them to depuff my eyes, help me out with a little bit of lighting? [Sure.] But do I want them to stretch my legs, thin out my waist, curve my hips, elongate my neck, blah, blah, blah? No.”
Eddie Redmayne is another friend of Portman’s. He talked about how he handles anxiety to Men’s Health. “There is an anxiety that kicks in about you wanting to serve the story well. When you’re filming you only have a few hours to get a specific scene. You are always trying to come up with all the ideas you can in a specific amount of time. There’s nothing more frustrating than coming home from work after a long day and then coming up with an interesting idea. There’s always anxiety and trepidation. I suppose it keeps me on my toes. It can be really galvanizing, but something you have to learn to control.”
Tessa Thompson worked with Portman in Thor: Love & Thunder. To prep for the role, Thompson enlisted trainer Amanda Walker. “We were training up to six times a week and she really worked hard,” Walker told Healthista of the actress’ workout. “The sessions varied because when you are on set you can’t fit in much. We just did what we could. Sometimes it would be an hour, but most of the time it would just be 20-30 minutes of work followed by some stretching and rehab work.”
Jaimie Alexander also worked with Portman in the Thor films. She talked about how she got in shape for the films to Shape Magazine. “I wasn’t very healthy in my twenties,” Alexander admitted. “I sat around and ate a lot of crap, and my weight peaked at 150 pounds. Then I got the part in Thor. I felt as if I had a whole new purpose in life. I was like, I can do this, but I was so out of shape. Chris and I started boxing to train for our roles, and I became the athlete I was in high school. I lost 20 pounds and packed on a ton of muscle.”