By Stephanie Holland / Senior Staff Editor
Natalie Portman finds her way onto a comedy romance film in “No Strings Attached” with co-star Ashton Kutcher. (Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures)
By Stephanie Holland / Senior Staff Editor
It seems impossible that the little girl from “The Professional” has grown into one of the most popular and acclaimed actresses working today.
Natalie Portman, fresh off her Oscar nominated performance in “Black Swan” takes a left turn into comedy with the box office hit “No Strings Attached.” She co-stars with Ashton Kutcher as a pair of friends who decide to have an affair with no emotional strings attached.
With a career that ranges from dramas like “Closer” and “Brothers” to action films like the “Star Wars” prequel trilogy, Portman has always chosen interesting projects.
Though “No Strings Attached” is her first real romantic comedy, Portman wanted to make sure that the movie didn’t fall into cliché territory. In an interview promoting the film she explained why she was attracted to Elizabeth Meriwether’s script.
“Liz has a real ear for distinguishing characters, each character has really their own voice, but each one is a funny voice,” she said. “It was hilarious, and allowed women to be hilarious and allowed women to be interesting…but it was really exciting to see a romantic comedy where it’s not all about the clothes.”
While Portman is not known for her comedic chops, Kutcher is obviously known for his and she enjoyed working with his unique abilities.
“Ashton’s great, he’s really fun, easygoing and playful,” she said. “It’s great to get to see how he improvises and plays with scenes, and does them in different ways, it’s been really nice.”
Besides Portman and Kutcher, “No Strings Attached” also features a very funny supporting cast that includes Kevin Kline, Cary Elwes, Mindy Kaling, Olivia Thirlby and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges.
The film is directed by comedy legend Ivan Reitman, whose previous films include both “Ghostbusters” movies, “Dave” and “Stripes.” He had nothing but praise for Portman’s comedic work.
“We’ve seen Natalie Portman act in a lot of serious films, but we’ve not had the opportunity to see her let it rip in a comedy…that was what I hoped to get with her and I think she delivers in spades,” Reitman said in an interview.
Her co-star Kutcher was equally impressed with what Portman brought to the film.
“Natalie’s awesome, super professional, super diligent, always prepared, always making interesting choices with what her character’s going to do… just a great partner to have,” Kutcher said in an interview.
Next up for Portman, besides collecting more awards, is motherhood as she and her fiancé Benjamin Millepied are expecting their first child.
“No Strings Attached” is currently playing in theaters.
