“Surprise Yourself”

The psychological thriller Black Swan has multiple Harvard connections: lead actress Natalie Portman ’03; director Darren Aronofsky ’91; and Fox Music president Robert Kraft ’76. Read more about the film in "Dark Beauty," from the January-February 2011 issue, and then view the clip below, in which Portman's character, Nina, approaches the ballet company's artistic director (played by Vincent Cassel) to ask for the role of Swan Queen.

Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures

You might also like

“It’s Tournament Time”

Harvard women’s basketball prepares for Ivy Madness.

A Harvard Agenda Shaped by Speech

The work underway in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Dialogue, not Debate

American University’s Lara Schwartz, J.D. ’98, teaches productive disagreement.

Most popular

AWOL from Academics

Behind students' increasing pull toward extracurriculars

Post-COVID Learning Losses

Children face potentially permanent setbacks

Why Americans Love to Hate Harvard

The president emeritus on elite universities’ academic accomplishments—and a rising tide of antagonism

More to explore

Winthrop Bell

Brief life of a philosopher and spy: 1884-1965

Talking about Talking

Fostering healthy disagreement

A Dogged Observer

Novelist and psychiatrist Daniel Mason takes the long view.