In the new Western film Jane Got a Gun , Natalie Portman returns to theaters after a lengthy absence, and she's doing so as a total badass. Portman portrays Jane Hammond in the Western, a woman who is forced to turn to her ex-lover for help when a vicious gang threatens her husband and daughter. She becomes a crack shot with a rifle and pistol, and sets out for revenge against those who did her wrong. Hammond is certainly an imposing character, but did Natalie Portman do her own stunts in Jane Got a Gun ?
It's hard to say. There haven't really been any reports on firearms training or anything like that that she went through for the film, but that could be at least partly due to the difficulties of the film's production burying any other press. Filming took place three years ago and the movie is just now making it to screen, so any stunts that Portman did would have occurred long ago. However, just judging by the trailer, it seems pretty clear that the actress knows her way around a good action sequence. And that really shouldn't come as any surprise because Natalie Portman has been kicking ass and taking names since she was a kid. Just take a look at these other times Portman proved she knew how to handle herself.
Léon: The Professional
It didn't take long for Portman to jump headlong into the action genre, as she was already portraying an assassin-in-training in her first film role back in 1994 at just 13 years old.
Attack of the Clones
The Star Wars prequels get a lot of flack, but none of that should be aimed at Portman's Padme, who shows that she can fire a blaster with the best of 'em at the Battle of Geonosis.
Cold Mountain
Even though Portman's main role in this Civil War-era epic is as a damsel in distress, she still manages to dole out her own justice with a rifle against a soldier who gets too close to her baby.
V For Vendetta
Portman mostly lets V take care of the bad guys in this cult classic, but she still gets in plenty of high stakes anti-establishment scheming of her own.
Your Highness
Probably her most ass-kicking role, at least prior to Jane Got a Gun anyway, Portman expertly wields a sword, knife, and a bow and arrow in this fantasy farce, but is perhaps at her most dangerous with her bare knuckles.
Black Swan
No one is confusing this high-concept, super-disturbing psychological thriller for an action film, but it's Portman's most intense role by far. Not only did she have to train for the film's demanding ballet scenes, she also has an absolutely ruthless fight scene.
Thor: The Dark World
In her second Marvel movie, Portman takes more of a direct role in the action, playing host to a powerful alien force known as the Aether.
Natalie Portman has been running and fighting through movies long before she ever picked up a six shooter for Jane Got a Gun. So on the list of actors on whose bad side I wouldn't want to get, I'd definitely put Portman somewhere near the top.
Images: The Weinstein Company; giphy.com; Disney/Lucasfilm; 20th Century Fox; Miramax Films; Warner Bros. Pictures; Universal Pictures
