Portman learned new way to act for 'Swan'

TORONTO, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Hollywood actress Natalie Portman says making her dance-themed, psychological thriller "Black Swan" taught her how to move and act in new ways.

Helmed by Darren Aronofsky, the film stars Portman as a ballerina tormented by a talented, sexy young rival, played by Mila Kunis. The movie, which is in the running for Sunday's Best Picture Oscar, co-stars Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey and Winona Ryder.

At a press conference at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, Portman told reporters her role in "Black Swan" helped her understand how to express herself with the movement of her body, as well as her facial expressions.

"It was absolutely an enormous lesson in acting because film is a very visual medium," noted the 29-year-old, Israeli-born actress.

"It's not a medium of words. And dance is, obviously, expression through physicality alone," she explained. "The detail! I had no idea… Watching the coaching… the detail on how the fingertips move, the eyes, the placement of the head. The different things you can express by different uses of body parts you rarely think about and, also, film is so concentrated on your face. It really does affect your entire character to move in a different way, to hold your body, to have your head down or up. It changes so much."