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When Darren Aronofsky met Natalie Portman at a Times Square diner in 2000, the young actress was a Harvard junior who had just appeared in the first Star Wars prequel. Aronofsky, fresh off his intense addiction drama Requiem for a Dream, pitched Portman on starring as a ballet dancer in his next project—even though he didn’t have a script yet.

“He just had the basic idea,” Portman tells Vogue. “But when he mentioned making a ballet film, I immediately wanted to be part of it.”

The concept evolved from several sources: Aronofsky’s sister’s ballet experiences (including stories of rivalries and injuries), Dostoevsky’s The Double, and an existing script about two actresses competing for an Off-Broadway role. These elements eventually became Black Swan—a bold, sensual psychological thriller starring Portman as Nina, a ballerina chosen for the dual lead in Swan Lake. While perfect for the innocent White Swan, Nina struggles to embody the dark, seductive Black Swan. When a rival dancer (Mila Kunis) emerges, Nina’s obsessive pursuit of perfection—fueled by pressure from her company and her former-ballerina mother (Barbara Hershey)—pushes her to the edge.

It took Aronofsky and Portman ten years of persistence (“and lots of kicking and screaming,” he jokes) to secure funding. Fox Searchlight eventually covered half of the $13 million budget—no easy sell for an arthouse horror film about ballet that ends with the protagonist’s death.

“Every studio passed,” Aronofsky recalls. “One executive claimed it would fail because ‘ballet fans hate horror, and horror fans hate ballet.'”

Their faith proved justified. Upon its December 2010 release, Black Swan earned $330 million worldwide, becoming Fox Searchlight’s second-highest-grossing film after Slumdog Millionaire. Portman won the Best Actress Oscar for her electrifying performance, and the film received four other nominations including Best Picture.

This August, a remastered IMAX version will screen for two days only (August 21 and 24), with limited-edition posters available. In December, Rodarte—who designed Portman’s striking finale costumes—will release a Black Swan-themed capsule collection.

To mark the film’s 15th anniversary, Aronofsky, Portman, and Kunis reunited with Vogue to reflect on its making.

Vogue: When did you last watch Black Swan?
Portman: Only fully at the Venice premiere. But we saw the final 10 minutes repeatedly during Q&As.
Kunis: Probably not since the premiere.
Aronofsky: My team handled the IMAX remaster while I was finishing Caught Stealing. I last saw it about three years ago when Lin-Manuel Miranda invited me to discuss it—it’s still a wild ride.

Natalie, I read that Darren first approached you… [text continues]Here’s a more natural and fluent version of the text while preserving its original meaning:

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Natalie, you first discussed playing a ballet dancer back in 2000. What stuck with you over the years that made this film such a priority?

Portman: Honestly, I just really wanted to work with Darren. I’d been passionate about ballet as a kid, so the chance to explore that with him was exciting. During our first meeting, we talked about how women and girls are both celebrated as the center of ballet and yet tightly controlled in so many ways. It was also interesting to place female characters in that competitive dynamic—they’re practically set up to pit against each other.

I heard you suggested Mila for the role of Lily?

Portman: Mila can tell her side, but we’d been friends for years. I remember being at the Rose Bowl Flea Market with her, talking about this ballet movie I was making with Darren. Mila casually mentioned, “I remember when I’d take off my pointe shoes…” and I was like, “Wait, you did ballet?!” I called Darren right away and said, “There’s this amazing actress with ballet experience—she’d be perfect for Lily.”

Kunis: I think I said, “I danced once,” and somehow that turned into me having done pointe.

Portman: Okay, maybe I exaggerated a little for you!

Aronofsky: Around the time we were casting, I saw Mila in Forgetting Sarah Marshall—she was fantastic. I told Natalie I’d love to meet her.

Kunis: My team said, “They’re flying you to New York,” and I was like, “No way, that’s too much for a lunch meeting. We can Skype.” They thought I was crazy, and yeah, I was being difficult. But at that first meeting, I just said, “I’m in—whatever you need, I’ll figure it out.”

Darren, I read you once considered having one actress play both Nina and Lily. Why did you decide against that, and what made Natalie and Mila right for their roles?

Aronofsky: It really came down to their energies. Natalie was involved from early on—she even helped shape the script and wrote the film’s last line (“I felt it… perfect. It was perfect.”). With Mila, we connected in a different way. You never know how things will come together, but I believe casting works out for a reason.

What did your preparation look like?

Kunis: Mine was a lot of dancing and very little eating—I know you’re not supposed to say that, but it’s true. I lived on broth and danced 12 hours a day. We were supposed to have three months of prep, but when financing fell through, it stretched to six. It was tough for Darren, but Nat and I were thrilled—we got three extra months to train.

Portman: Beyond dancing, we didn’t rehearse much. The physical training had an unexpected benefit: my trainer was a former NYCB dancer, and I spent a year hearing her stories about ballet life. It was like investigative journalism, but really just gossiping while doing pliés.

Natalie, how did you develop Nina’s voice?

Darren and I talked a lot about it—many ballerinas have these girlish voices, which isn’t universal but stands out. It’s part of that pressure to keep women childlike. We wanted to shift between a “white swan” softness and something more intense.

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“Swan” voice and a “black swan” voice.

Were there any other observations that made it into the film? Any details from the ballet world that stood out to you?

Aronofsky: So many. The little aesthetic details of that world fascinated me—like how dancers prepare their shoes or how their feet look after a performance.

I saw some behind-the-scenes footage, and it looked like a pretty guerrilla-style production—just you with a handheld camera and a small crew running around New York.

Aronofsky: That’s how I’ve always made films. I go all-in, and these two did too. It was all-consuming because I had nothing else going on in my life.

Kunis: Darren would call me at 2 AM and say, “Hey, can you get to the subway? We’re shooting at 86th Street.” I didn’t have kids back then, so I was like, “Sure, whatever.” A lot of times, we’d just show up on a street corner and shoot without permits. I don’t think you could get away with that now.

Aronofsky: I wanted a documentary feel for the film. I couldn’t think of another handheld horror movie like that. I worried it might take away from the intensity since the shaky camera reminds you someone’s behind it. But it was a risk that paid off—it let us break the usual theater-style shooting and actually dance with Natalie onstage. We did a lot of takes, and it was physically grueling for both of them.

Were any scenes especially tough to shoot?

Kunis: The dance scenes went on for hours. I had bruises all over my ribs from being lifted repeatedly. I also dislocated my shoulder early on and thought I was done for, but Darren sent me to an acupuncturist, and somehow, I was fine.

Portman: The hardest scene was when Mila and I hooked up. It’s fun working with a friend—until you have to film a sex scene with them. Darren said, “You only have to do it once.” We were standing there, nervous, until he yelled “Action!” and we just went for it. And he kept his word—we only did it once. But I remember getting to set that day thinking, I don’t feel good about this.

Kunis: Honestly, I totally forgot about that scene (laughs). I was just thinking, What was hard? and completely blocked it out.

Natalie, I read you got hurt badly during the dressing room scene where Nina pushes Lily—herself?—into the mirror.

Portman: I don’t remember that.

Kunis: Nat, I remember shooting with you the next day. You had scars all over your neck. Darren said, “Yeah, she really went for it.”

Portman: I completely blacked that out. No memory of it at all.

Darren, I heard you subtly tried to pit Natalie and Mila against each other during filming to help their performances.

Aronofsky: My take? I was being a sneaky director, trying to stir things up. But Mila and Natalie caught on fast and made fun of me, so it turned into a joke. They’re both sharp—they saw right through whatever trick I was pulling. Do you remember it differently?

Portman: I remember being kept apart from Mila when we weren’t shooting. Early on, Darren said something like, “Nat, Mila’s dancing really well.”

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I thought, “Of course she is! She’s incredibly talented, I adore her, and I’m thrilled she’s doing such amazing work!”

Photo: Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

Kunis: Darren would tell me, “Nat is working really hard—she’s not even taking weekends off.” Then I’d text Nat, and she’d say, “…No, I’m not?” That’s how we realized what Darren was doing, but it was all in good fun.

Portman: Black Swan was the first time I felt completely in sync with a director. Every conversation with Darren gave me a new insight that unlocked a scene for me.

One of the film’s themes is the idea that great art comes from pain or chaos—that an artist has to lose themselves to achieve something transcendent. Do you have strong feelings about that in your own work?

Kunis: During press for Black Swan, journalists kept asking, “How terrifying is Darren? How intense is his set?” I’d say, “He’s actually really sweet—he once took us to see Twilight on a day off.” They were always disappointed he wasn’t some tortured artist who treated us horribly. You can have fun on set, do great work, and still live a happy life.

Photo: Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

Aronofsky: My sets are always relaxed, no matter how intense the material is. But between “action” and “cut,” everyone takes it seriously. There’s always some suffering in hard work—even just the physical toll of training for a role.

Portman: Black Swan was incredibly challenging but also a beautiful experience. The set wasn’t goofy, but everyone was kind and respectful. If suffering was the only way to make a masterpiece, I’d pass—life’s too short.

What did you think of the final film?

Portman: I first saw it in full at Venice, but I’d already seen most of it because we recorded that voiceover track—remember, Darren?

Aronofsky: No?

Portman: You had me hum the Swan Lake score over a piano as a creepy effect. You didn’t use it, but I saw a lot of the film while recording. You really don’t remember? Well, it clearly didn’t work.

Aronofsky: I tend to forget my bad ideas, but that sounds cool. I can picture you doing it in your soft White Swan voice. I’ll have to dig that up.

Black Swan became a huge sensation as soon as the trailer dropped and Venice reactions came out. Did that feel rewarding after years of work?

Aronofsky: Absolutely. Venice was in September, but by Halloween in New York, people were already dressing as Natalie’s Black Swan. I was shocked—no one had even seen the movie yet!

Photo: Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

Kunis: After filming, there was silence—then suddenly my manager called saying I’d won an award at Venice. I thought Black Swan would be a small indie film, but it exploded into this massive phenomenon.

Portman: While shooting, I didn’t fully grasp the film’s tone, so seeing the final version was a thrilling surprise. I had no idea how bold Darren’s vision was until then.

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Let me know if you’d like any further refinements!The dress was amazing, but as Darren mentioned, the ultimate goal is always to become a Halloween costume—or a drag performance. I think this movie really cemented us in that tradition, which is thrilling for me. I’ve absolutely seen drag queens dressed as your characters, working lines from the film into their acts.

Portman: That’s my dream. Honestly, it’s my biggest ambition with every role I take.

This conversation has been edited and condensed.