Natalie Portman doesn’t just play characters. She inhabits them with the kind of intensity that makes every performance feel lived-in. From her haunting debut in Léon: The Professional to her fierce turn in V for Vendetta, she has been the filmmakers’ choice to play smart characters. But in 2010, Black Swan changed everything. Her turn as Nina Sayers, a ballerina crushed under the weight of ambition and duality, was both award-worthy and career-defining. Portman earned an Oscar and became one of the most fearless actresses working today.

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