Natalie Portman Was Inspired to Go Vegan by a Marvel Star — but Not Chris Hemsworth
There are several high-profile vegan stars, but few are more outspoken and dedicated to the vegan lifestyle than Natalie Portman. The outspoken advocate and award-winning actor has been vegan for years and regularly speaks out about the health benefits of going plant-based. Interestingly enough, Portman was inspired to become vegan by another actor who is well-known in the Marvel universe – but not her frequent co-star Chris Hemsworth, who has also utilized a vegan diet to get in peak condition for his role as Thor.
Who inspired Natalie Portman to become vegan?
Natalie Portman went vegan in 2008, the same year she started spending time with fellow Marvel star Tobey Maguire. Portman later revealed that it was thanks to Maguire’s influence that she realized the benefits of a vegan lifestyle. As reported by Vegan Food and Living, Portman said, “I was around Tobey Maguire in rehearsals and he’s vegan and I was eating this energy bar, which was really nice.”
The star went on to note that her love of a vegan lifestyle comes from a place of caring for animals, revealing, “I’m honest about caring about animals. You know, eggs and milk products, there’s a lot of animal discomfort in that, too. I don’t know if it’s a permanent thing.” While some people might think being vegan is complicated, Portman told Jimmy Fallon that that is a misconception. “I like showing that there are really delicious, varied, easy things that you can do at home that your kids will eat that are plant-based.”
Chris Hemsworth turned to a vegan diet to bulk up for ‘Avengers: Endgame’
Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire aren’t the only Marvel stars who have turned to veganism to reach their wellness goals. In order to bulk up for his role as Thor in Avengers: Endgame, Chris Hemsworth opted to follow a vegan diet. Although he typically follows a high-protein diet full of meat like lean chicken, Hemsworth switched to vegan once production started, with his trainer revealing that the star ate a lot of bean and veggie burgers and that he ate as much as six times a day.
Interestingly enough, Hemsworth’s muscle growth wasn’t on full display in Avengers: Endgame because, for most of his scenes, the actor had to wear a fat suit to play the “depressed” version of Thor. Still, his affinity for eating vegan helped him reach his fitness goals and maintain them throughout production.
How did Natalie Portman prepare for her role in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’?
With both Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth in leading roles in the upcoming movie Thor: Love and Thunder, it was important for both stars to look and feel their best – especially since, this time around, Portman’s character will be wielding Thor’s hammer. Portman, in particular, had to get ultra-buff for the role, gaining a lot of muscle and following an intense workout regimen. As reported by Screen Rant, Portman admitted that she consumed a lot of protein shakes (vegan shakes, presumably) and trained for a long time to build enough muscle to convincingly play the role.
“It really helped prepare me for the level of action that we ended up doing,” Portman said of the nutrition and fitness regimen she followed. “We had incredible stunt doubles who did the really hard stuff, but there’s still a great deal of running and jumping and swords and hammer-fighting.” Fans will be able to see the result of her hard work for themselves when Thor: Love and Thunder rolls into theaters on July 8, 2022.
