Hollywood beauty Natalie Portman lost so much weight to play Nina, a troubled ballerina, in Black Swan that she "nearly died".
The 29-year-old actress who recently announced that she is expecting her first child, went from slim to skeletalfor the role, which is tipped for an Oscar nod,
Portman trained in ballet for a year to get her moves right and is now engaged to her dancing partner in the movie, Benjamin Millepied.
"There were some nights that I thought I literally was going to die. It was the first time I understood how you could get so wrapped up in a role that it could sort of take you down," said the actress.
Portman said that she was also worried about the box-office performance of the film.
"Everyone was so worried about who was going to want to see this movie. I remember them being like, 'How do you get guys to a ballet movie? How do you get girls to a thriller?' And the answer is a lesbian scene. Everyone wants to see that," said the actress.
