When you think of Mila Kunis, you probably think of That '70s Show or her voicing Meg Griffin. But if you’ve seen Black Swan, you know there is a massive, jagged line in the sand of her career. Before that movie, she was a sitcom star. After? She was a powerhouse.
It’s been over fifteen years since Darren Aronofsky released his psychological fever dream about the ballet world. Honestly, the stories coming out of that set are still wild. We talk a lot about Natalie Portman—who won the Oscar, obviously—but the transformation of Mila Kunis into Lily was just as intense. Maybe more so, considering she had never really danced a day in her life before signing on.
She basically lived on broth. She dislocated her shoulder. She became, in her own words, "skin and bones."
The Brutal Reality of the Black Swan Mila Kunis Transformation
The training for this movie wasn't some Hollywood "get fit" camp. It was a six-month descent into physical exhaustion. Originally, the prep was supposed to be three months, but the production lost its financing (which happens way more than you'd think in indie film). That delay actually saved them. It gave Kunis and Portman an extra three months to learn how to move like professionals.
Kunis was training seven days a week. Five hours a day. She also had an hour of cardio on top of that.
Let’s talk about the weight. Mila is already a small person. To play Lily, she dropped 20 pounds. She hit a low of 95 pounds. When she looked in the mirror, she didn't see a movie star; she saw a "little brick house" made of nothing but muscle and bone. It wasn't healthy. She’s been very open recently—especially in a 2025 retrospective with Vogue—about how much that sucked.
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What Her Diet Actually Looked Like
If you're looking for a "ballet diet" tip, don't look here. It was basically starvation.
- Calories: Roughly 1,200 a day (sometimes less).
- The "Menu": Lots of broth. That’s it.
- The Result: She was constantly "tired and hungry."
The physical toll went way beyond just being hungry. During the shoot, she tore a ligament. She dislocated her shoulder. She still has two scars on her back from the production. Because they were doing so many lifts, her ribs were constantly bruised. Imagine being 95 pounds and having a grown man lift you by your ribcage fifty times a day for a single shot. It’s brutal.
That Rumored Rivalry (That Didn't Actually Happen)
Darren Aronofsky is known for being... well, intense. He’s the guy who directed The Whale and Requiem for a Dream. He likes to push people. During the filming of Black Swan, he tried to manufacture a real-life rivalry between Kunis and Portman.
He’d send them "secret" texts. He’d tell Mila, "Oh, Natalie is doing so well, she’s really working hard," trying to make her jealous. Then he’d do the same to Natalie. He wanted that "Lily vs. Nina" energy to be real.
It totally failed.
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Why? Because they were already friends. Instead of getting competitive, they’d just text each other like, "Hey, Darren just sent me a weird text about you, congrats on killing it today!" They saw right through it. In a world where every tabloid wants a "catfight" story, it’s kinda refreshing that they just became closer through the shared trauma of the training.
The Performance: Why Lily Worked
Lily is the "Black Swan" to Nina’s "White Swan." She’s messy. She’s sexual. She’s dangerous.
Most people don't realize that Natalie Portman actually recommended Mila for the role. They were at a flea market together, and Natalie asked if she’d ever done ballet. Mila lied. Well, she "exaggerated." She said she’d danced before, which Natalie interpreted as "she’s a pro."
By the time Aronofsky found out Mila wasn't a trained ballerina, she was already committed.
That lack of formal training might have actually helped. Lily is supposed to be the "imperfect" dancer. She has a loose, raw energy that Nina lacks. When you watch Mila in the movie, she isn't trying to be a perfect technician; she’s trying to be a force of nature. It’s why she walked away with a Golden Globe nomination and won the Marcello Mastroianni Award at the Venice Film Festival.
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Life After the Tutu
What happens when the cameras stop? For Mila, it was a trip to the airport.
The second she wrapped, she went to the Virgin America terminal at JFK and bought Panda Express. Then she landed in LA, drove straight to In-N-Out, and ordered a Double-Double Animal Style with a root beer float. She’s joked that she "ate her way back to health."
But there’s a weird side effect to losing weight that fast. She noted that when the weight came back, it didn't go back to the same places. It changed her body chemistry for a while. It’s a reminder that these "Oscar-worthy transformations" come with a price tag that usually isn't mentioned in the awards speeches.
Why It Still Matters
- Career Pivot: It proved Mila could do drama, leading to roles in films like Luckiest Girl Alive.
- Industry Shift: It highlighted the extreme pressures on female actors regarding body image.
- The "Aronofsky Effect": It remains one of the best examples of how a director can pull a performance out of an actor through sheer environment.
If you’re looking to revisit the film, pay attention to the scenes where Lily is just "being." There’s a certain heaviness in her eyes that you can’t fake with makeup. That’s the exhaustion.
Next Steps for Your Rewatch:
- Watch the Ribs: In the lifting scenes, notice how thin the actors actually look; it’s jarring compared to their modern roles.
- Look for the Scars: Mila has mentioned the back scars; see if you can spot the makeup coverage in the lower-back tattoo scenes.
- Contrast the Energy: Compare her performance here to Friends with Benefits, which she shot shortly after. The physical difference is night and day.
The story of the black swan Mila Kunis performance isn't just about a movie; it's a case study in how far someone is willing to go for their craft. She hasn't put on a pointe shoe since. She says she never will again. And honestly? Can you blame her?