In 2010, Macaulay Culkin’s ex-girlfriend Mila Kunis filmed a lesbian sex scene with Natalie Portman in the psychological thriller Black Swan.
Mila Kunis Cast as Lily in Black Swan
Mila Kunis portrayed Lily, a rival ballet dancer, to the main character, Nina Sayers, played by Natalie Portman. Mila was cast after director Darren Aronofsky saw her in the 2008 American romantic comedy film Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
Mila Kunis as Lily, a rival ballet dancer, in the psychological thriller Black Swan (Credit: Fox Searchlight Pictures)
The Physical Demands of the Role
Mila Kunis discussed her weight loss for Black Swan during a 2016 interview, emphasizing that while she lost weight healthily to appear more like a ballerina, it was a challenging process she wouldn’t recommend. For the first time, she used a food delivery service to manage her diet.
“I didn’t starve myself,” Kunis said in June 2016 during an appearance on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM show. With no experience in ballet, Sarah Hyland’s lookalike had to lose weight for the role.
“I did do it in the healthiest way possible. I don’t recommend anybody ever doing it.”
“I had to look skinny in order to look like a ballerina,” Kunis explained. “You fake it. So, the best way to fake it is to, unfortunately, look like it.”
“I never watched what I ate [before]. It was one of those things, for the first time in my life, I got a food delivery service,” she said about her diet.
Director Darren Aronofsky, Vincent Cassel, and Natalie Portman on the set of Black Swan in New York City on December 7, 2009 (Credit: WENN)
“And I’ll tell you this — I’m not promoting this at all — but I used to be a smoker, and so I smoked a lot of cigarettes and I ate a limited amount of calories.”
“Twelve hundred calories and I smoked,” she reiterated about her struggle to lose weight. “I don’t advocate this at all. It was awful.” Kunis has since quit smoking.
On-Set Rivalry and Friendship
Natalie Portman shared that director Darren Aronofsky tried to create real-life tension between her and Mila Kunis during the filming of Black Swan to enhance their on-screen rivalry. Despite this, the two actresses became friends, having previously bonded over casual nights watching Top Chef.
“Darren would tell us things about each other to try to make us jealous. I think he was trying to create a rivalry in real life between us,” Portman told US Weekly about becoming friends with Mila Kunis on the set.
“Mila and I had had ‘sweatpants nights’ watching Top Chef,” Portman recalled, “and suddenly we were on set together in tutus, emaciated and tired.” She met her current husband, Benjamin Millepied, on the set of the film.
Mila Kunis as Lily confronts Natalie Portman’s character, Nina, in Black Swan (Credit: Fox Searchlight Pictures)
The Awkwardness of Filming Intimate Scenes
Natalie Portman admitted that she hadn’t fully considered the implications of filming a sex scene with Mila Kunis in Black Swan. She described the experience as awkward, suggesting it might have been easier with someone she didn’t know.
“I didn’t really think through the fact that I was going to have to have sex with her in the movie,” Portman told MTV about the lesbian sex scene with Mila Kunis. Their characters end up having sex in Nina’s apartment after an evening of clubbing.
“It was pretty awkward. I almost feel like it would be easier to do it with someone you didn’t know,” she explained.
Natalie Portman in an elegant off-the-shoulder black gown and Mila Kunis in a plunging beige dress at the Black Swan premiere (Credit: B. Ach / INFevents)
In addition to their lesbian sex scene, Natalie Portman also shares an on-screen kiss with Mila Kunis in Black Swan.
“Mila!” Portman responded on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen when asked if Ashton Kutcher or Mila Kunis is the better kisser. “I mean, obviously,” she added. Portman and Kutcher kissed in 2011’s No Strings Attached.
In a 2015 Reddit AMA, Kunis revealed that Portman is “a lovely kisser, very polite.”
Natalie Portman in a sleek black blazer paired with a printed dress and Mila Kunis in a chic white coat at the 2009 American Ballet Theatre Fall Gala at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, on October 7, 2009, in New York City (Credit: Andres Otero/ WENN)
“But, having said that, it was great to have a friend there who, we could laugh and make jokes and get over it together,” Portman added.
“There was no tequila! Not sure where that rumor came from, but it’s false,” Kunis told People about the lesbian sex scene. “I don’t think we could have done that scene if we were intoxicated.”
“They’re never comfortable, same-sex, opposite-sex, it’s never comfortable,” she added about filming intimate scenes.
Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, and Vincent Cassel attend the New York Premiere of “Black Swan” at the Ziegfeld Theatre on November 30, 2010, in New York City (Credit: Andres Otero/ WENN)
“It’s hard to have a sex scene, period. It doesn’t matter if it’s a friend, a male, a female,” Portman told reporters on the red carpet in 2010.
“You’re with 100-something crew members, lighting you, repositioning you, there’s no comfort whatsoever.”
Mila Kunis’s Billboard Music Awards Look
In May 2018, Black Swan actress Mila Kunis joined Ciara, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lopez, and Maren Morris at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Mila Kunis rocks a chic off-shoulder black top with a studded belt at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on May 20, 2018 (Credit: Apega / WENN)
Showing off her new hairstyle at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards, the then-34-year-old actress wore a black and silver crystal-embellished cady skirt paired with a black long-sleeve crop top from the same David Koma Fall 2017 collection.
Mila Kunis stuns in a sleek black David Koma outfit featuring an off-shoulder top and a studded mini skirt (Credit: Nicky Nelson / WENN)
Her $2,125 skirt is quite a bargain compared to JLo’s $85,070 Roberto Cavalli croc creation. How do you like Mila’s set of bangs?
Mila Kunis dazzles on the red carpet in a black David Koma ensemble featuring an off-shoulder top, a studded mini skirt, and black pointed-toe pumps (Credit: Nicky Nelson / WENN)
Don’t you wish she had rounded off her look with a more edgy pair of shoes?
Mila Kunis Honors Zoe Saldana at Her Hollywood Walk of Fame Ceremony
Earlier that month, Ashton Kutcher’s wife attended Zoe Saldana’s Hollywood Walk of Fame Ceremony in black laceless ‘Annie’ brogues from The Frye Company.
Mila Kunis showed up to watch her friend Zoe Saldana receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood on May 3, 2018 (Credit: FayesVision / WENN)
Mila, who worked with Zoe in the 2007 movie ‘After Sex,’ spoke at the event to honor her friend.
“I admire you as a person, a wife, a sister, a mother, a businesswoman, and an actress. While the world knows you for the characters you have played, I have the privilege of knowing the working mom behind the scenes,” Mila said during the speech.
Zoe Saldana stuns in a white midi dress with strappy heels, while Mila Kunis keeps it casual in a black ensemble at Zoe’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony (Credit: FayesVision / WENN)