Natalie Portman is one of Hollywood’s brightest performers, and she received widespread acclaim for her tense performance in the psychological thriller Black Swan as the shy ballerina Nina Sayers who experiences a sinister transformation.

Natalie Portman has confessed that she did not anticipate Black Swan to be as melodramatic as it was, and that she was “completely surprised” by the film’s success.

The 37-year-old actress told Vanity Fair that she assumed she was filming for a “documentary style” movie and had no idea it would be a “over the top thriller.”

“When I saw the final cut I was completely surprised by what the movie was like. I thought we were shooting something like almost documentary style, and then I watched it and it was an over the top thriller,” Portman said.

“It was an amazing wake-up call that film is a director’s medium and as an actor you have no idea what’s going on and you’re being led and shaped,” she added.

Portman has nothing but love for the creative director.

“Darren was a great collaborator. Darren was genuinely interested in my point of view and my input. It felt like a partnership.

“It was an incredible experience for so many reasons. I had always loved dance so much. It is the art I am most moved by, that expresses things that can’t be expressed by other media. It took 10 years for it to come together.”

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After obtaining the main part in her company’s production of Swan Lake, the actress earned an Oscar for her portrayal of gifted dancer Nina Sayers, whose perfectionist tendencies and mommy issues caused her mental health to plummet.

Darren Aronofsky, who helmed mother!, directed the 2010 film, which also stars Winona Ryder and Mila Kunis.

Portman’s patience and hard work paid off, and Aronofsky received recognition for his subsequent films Noah and mother!, the latter of which saw Aronofsky begin a relationship with leading lady Jennifer Lawrence.