Natalie Portman has revealed that she agreed to take on Thor because Kenneth Branagh was directing the project.
The actress admits that she was not looking to do a big budget blockbuster but was intrigued when she heard that Branagh was going to be helming the latest Marvel comic book adaptation.
Speaking to ContactMusic the actress said: "It was sort of actually not something I was dying to do. Not 'Thor' in particular but a big movie. When I heard Ken was doing it, I said, 'Wow that is a daring and interesting idea.'
"Then I met Ken and he was someone I was extremely interested to get to spend three months with. It was probably the first, or one of the first times that my expectations were actually exceeded."
Portman takes on the role of Jane Foster in the film alongside Chris Hemsworth and Anthony Hopkins and while she enjoyed the shoot she admits that she does find blue screen work tricky.
"Working with blue screen and that whole universe is something that is a skill and something that you really need to practice. If acting schools were created today, that would be a technique that you would learn.
And getting to experience that with Ken's guidance - who's the master of attacking text and character from every angle - was a new way to approach the blue screen acting. It was an exciting challenge to go at again."
Thor is just one movie that Portman has in the pipeline in what as been a busy year for the actress. Her latest film Black Swan, which is directed by Darren Aronofsky, opened the Venice Film Festival last week is already surrounded in Oscar whispers.
She has also completed work on Your Highness and No Strings.
Thor is released next year.
Tagged in Kenneth Branagh Natalie Portman