By ELIZABETH MARCELLINO

HOLLYWOOD (CNS) – Winning the best-actress Oscar “feels very, very
dreamlike,’ Natalie Portman said backstage tonight at the Kodak Theatre.
Though she was happy to take home the award for her role as Nina in
“Black Swan,’ the pregnant actress said she would absolutely not name her
baby-to-be Oscar.
“That’s definitely out of the question,’ she said.
The role was a strenuous one for the actress, who said the shooting and
rehearsal schedule was so “hectic’ that she only slept about five hours a
night. But she said that helped her in dealing with such a damaged character.
“I didn’t necessarily have time to think about what was happening,’
she said, instead “just falling into bed and then waking up to go to set.’
But it still took her longer to shake off the character than some other
roles she’s played.
“The whole movie was so intense … it stayed with me a little longer
than usual,’ Portman said.
She credited director Darren Aronofsky for guiding her through the
emotionally and physically demanding role.
“It’s only possible to give yourself so freely when you absolutely 100
percent trust the person you’re working with as a director,’ the actress said.
Film is “absolutely a director’s medium’ and “Darren’s artistry is so
extreme, that I absolutely felt free to try everything.’
As for the dancing, she said she felt the role was choreographed “in a
manner that best flattered what I could do and avoided what I couldn’t do,’
which was “key to the credibility for the film.’
Her character Nina should be both admired and pitied, she said.
“Her passion is to be admired, but her obvious fragile mental state and
fragmentation of her identity is to be pitied,’ Portman told reporters.
“One of the most beautiful things about the film is that it can be
interpreted in so many ways,’ said the actress. “I really see it as a coming
of age.’
She said she believes the film shows Nina becoming a woman and “killing
the child’s version of herself … I don’t necessarily see (the end of the
film) as a death, as some people do.’
Many of the questions she had to field backstage were about her pregnancy.
“The baby was definitely kicking a lot during the song portion of the
show, little dancer,’ Portman recalled, but said she couldn’t remember much
else that had happened after her name was called.
Her pregnancy has insulated her against some of the silliness of awards
season, she said.
“It feels like a protection against all of the hoopla,’ Portman said.
“(It’s) the part that keeps you centered … in the midst of a lot of shiny
stuff that is more superficial.’
Next, she looks forward to “staying in bed and not having to do my
makeup and hair and keeping my sweats on.’

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