Natalie Portman on the 'Daunting' Task of Playing 'Jackie' Kennedy

“Jackie” star Natalie Portman admits that portraying the legendary Jackie Kennedy in the Pablo Larraín-directed biographical drama was a formidable task.

“It was very daunting,” Portman told TheWrap during the Toronto International Film Festival in September. “I had never played a role before that was someone that people really knew, how they looked and talked and moved so specifically. So of course, it put the pressure on to be quite specific with portraying her and studying her, of course.”

“But,” Portman added, “luckily, Pablo’s approach was so… sort of like, all encompassing and psychological that I felt like I was able to and free to put imagination into it also.”

Also Read: Natalie Portman Set to Play Jackie Kennedy in New Biopic Produced by Darren Aronofsky

“Jackie” debuted at the Venice Film Festival to rave reviews, for both Portman’s portrayal of the iconic First Lady and Larraín’s unconventional take on the biopic. It portrays the construction of the mythical Camelot, a nickname for President John F. Kennedy’s administration (1961-1963), through the eyes of Jackie during and after her husband’s assassination.

The independent film company purchased the U.S. distribution rights to the Pablo Larraín drama on the heels of public and industry screenings at the Toronto Film Festival.

“Jackie,” starring Peter Sarsgaard and Greta Gerwig, opens in U.S. theaters on December 2.

Watch the exclusive video above.

77 Eye-Popping Portraits From TheWrap's Toronto Film Festival Studio (Exclusive Photos)

Actor Gael García Bernal, "Neruda"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actors Gael García Bernal and Luis Gnecco, "Neruda"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actor Luis Gnecco, "Neruda"

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Director Pablo Larraín and actor Gael García Bernal, "Neruda"

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Actress Holly Hunter, "Strange Weather"

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Actor Rami Malek, "Buster's Mal Heart"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Director Sarah Adina Smith and actor Rami Malek, "Buster's Mal Heart"

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Director Sarah Adina Smith, "Buster's Mal Heart"

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Director Ben Younger and actors Miles Teller and Aaron Eckhart, "Bleed for This"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actor Hisham Fageeh, "Barakah Meets Barakah"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actor Fatima Al Banawi, "Barakah Meets Barakah"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Director Mahmoud Sabbagh and Actors Hisham Fageeh and Fatima Al Banawi, "Barakah Meets Barakah"

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Director Mahmoud Sabbagh, "Barakah Meets Barakah"

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Director Kenneth Lonergan, "Manchester by the Sea"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actress Angela Sarafyan, "The Promise"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actress Shohreh Aghdashloo, "The Promise"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actor Marwan Kenzari, "The Promise"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actor Jarkko Lahti and Director Juho Kuosmanen, "The Happiest Day in the Life of Ali Maki"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actress Sônia Braga, "Aquarius"

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Director Kleber Mendonça Filho and actress Sônia Braga, "Aquarius"

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Actor Ryan Gosling and director Damien Chazelle, "La La Land"

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Director Damien Chazelle, "La La Land"

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Actress Riley Keough, "American Honey"

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Actress Sasha Lane, "American Honey"

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Actors Raymond Coalson, Sasha Lane, Riley Keough and McCaul Lombardi "American Honey"

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Director Morgan Spurlock, "Rats"

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Director Morgan Spurlock and Producer "Rats"

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Producer Jeremy Chilnick, "Rats"

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Director Chan-Wook Park, "The Handmaiden"

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Director Adam Leon and actors Grace Van Patten, Michal Vondel and Callum Turner, "Tramps"

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Actress Grace Van Patten, "Tramps"

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Actor Callum Turner, "Tramps"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actor Michal Vondel, "Tramps"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Director Adam Leon, "Tramps"

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Director Claude Barras, "My Life As A Zucchini"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Director and actor Nick Cannon, "King of the Dancehall"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actress Natalie Portman, "Planetarium" and "Jackie"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actress Natalie Portman, "Planetarium" and "Jackie"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actress Lily-Rose Depp, "Planetarium"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actor Emmanuel Salinger, "Planetarium"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Director Rebecca Zlotowski, "Planetarium"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Director Rebecca Zlotowski with actors Natalie Portman, Emmanuel Salinger and Lily-Rose Depp, "Planetarium"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actors Kathryn Hahn, Gaby Hoffman, Jeffrey Tambor, Amy Landecker and Jay Duplass with creator Jill Soloway, "Transparent"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actor Jeffrey Tambor, "Transparent"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actress Gaby Hoffman, "Transparent"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actor Jay Duplass, "Transparent"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actress Amy Landecker, "Transparent"

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Actress Kathryn Hahn, "Transparent"

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Creator Jill Soloway, "Transparent"

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Actress Isabelle Huppert and director Mia Hansen-Løve, "Things to Come"

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Actress Isabelle Huppert, "Things to Come"

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Director-producer Fisher Stevens, "Before the Flood"

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Actor and director Ewan McGregor, "American Pastoral"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto

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Actor and director Ewan McGregor, "American Pastoral"

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Actor and director Ewan McGregor, "American Pastoral"

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Actor and director Ewan McGregor, "American Pastoral"

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Actress Jennifer Connelly, "American Pastoral"

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Actress Jennifer Connelly, "American Pastoral"

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Actress Jennifer Connelly, "American Pastoral"

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Actress Uzo Aduba, "American Pastoral"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actress Uzo Aduba, "American Pastoral"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actress Dakota Fanning, "American Pastoral"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actress Dakota Fanning, "American Pastoral"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actors Uzo Aduba, Jennifer Connelly, Dakota Fanning and Ewan McGregor, "American Pastoral"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actors Uzo Aduba, Jennifer Connelly, Dakota Fanning and Ewan McGregor, "American Pastoral"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Producers Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi, "American Pastoral"

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Actress Fan BingBing and Director Xiaogang Feng, "I Am Not Madame Bovary"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Director Xiaogang Feng and actress Fan Bingbing, "I Am Not Madame Bovary"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Actors Guo Tao, Dong Chengpeng, director Xiaogang Feng and actress Fan Bingbing, "I Am Not Madame Bovary"

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Director Oliver Stone, "Snowden"

Also Read: ‘Snowden’ Toronto Review: Oliver Stone Plays It Aesthetically Safe

Photographed by Geneviève Caron (FH Studio) for TheWrap at The Thompson Toronto
Director Oliver Stone, "Snowden"

Also Read: ‘Snowden’ Director Oliver Stone Accuses Modern Hollywood of ‘McCarthy Era’ Self-Censorship (Exclusive Video)

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Director Oliver Stone, "Snowden"

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Actor David Oyelowo, "United Kingdom"

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Actor David Oyelowo, "United Kingdom"

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Director Amma Asante and actor David Oyelowo, "United Kingdom"

Also Read: ‘A United Kingdom’ Review: David Oyelowo Drama Is a Ho-Hum Crowd Pleaser

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Director Amma Asante, "United Kingdom"

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Director Amma Asante, "United Kingdom"

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Toronto 2016: Ryan Gosling, David Oyelowo, Miles Teller and Natalie Portman are among the stars who stopped by TheWrap’s studio at The Thompson Toronto

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