Natalie Portman says she felt like 'the outsider' trying 'to fit in' on the 'Thor: Love and Thunder' set
- Natalie Portman said she felt like the "new kid" filming "Thor: Love and Thunder."
- Portman's costars and director had all worked on 2017's "Thor: Ragnarok" without her.
Natalie Portman said that she felt like an "outsider" when she first joined the set of "Thor: Love and Thunder."
The film, which premieres in theaters Friday, is Portman's first full appearance in a Marvel film since "Thor: The Dark World" in 2013. While in previous films Portman's character, Jane Foster, was Thor's love interest, in "Love and Thunder," she suits up to become a hero.
Portman told Vogue Australia that it was "incredible" and "surreal" to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe after almost a decade.
However, the actor noted that she felt she had to "figure out how to fit in" because her costars, Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, and director Taika Waititi had all worked together on the previous "Thor" film, "Ragnarok."
"It's so strange when something is very familiar but also, you're kind of the new kid," the Marvel star said. "Because Chris and Tessa and Taika had worked together on 'Ragnarok,' and so successfully and so it was like they were all reuniting and I was this newbie in there trying to figure out how to fit in."
Portman continued: "But also they're just the nicest people, and also I know Chris and Tessa so well from previous work together, and also I had done 'Thor' movies twice before. So there was a lot of familiarity and comfort in that world too, but it was this weird mix of being the veteran and the newbie at the same time. I was there at the beginning. But at the same time, you're the outsider to this group."
The experience was not entirely new for Portman since she has worked with both Hemsworth on previous "Thor" movies and Thompson on the 2018 movie "Annihilation."
Portman also told Vogue that her "favorite scenes" were when she got to work with Thompson.
"There's this love and partnership that we have in real life that I think comes into our scenes together," Portman said. "And to see that kind of sisterhood reflected on screen, I think, mirrored our real experience on set, where it was such a nice thing to be able to look to my girlfriend and be like, 'What's happening here! I'm feeling this, are you feeling that too?' Just someone you can laugh with and talk things over with in your workplace."
"Thor: Love and Thunder" is in theaters on Friday.