Kenneth Branagh was really impressed by Natalie Portman’s intelligence.

SUMMARY

Kenneth Branagh was “very taken” with Natalie Portman upon meeting the actress.
He didn’t want a female physicist in Thor that would end up like Denise Richards’ character in James Bond.
The director talked about his unique interpretation of Thor’s story in the movie.

Marvel fans first met Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster in 2011’s Thor, a physicist who would later become the love interest of Chris Hemsworth’s Thor.

Helmed by Kenneth Branagh, the first installment of the Thor franchise saw the adventures of the God of Thunder as he tries to prove himself worthy of the mythical hammer, Mjölnir.

Natalie Portman as Jane Foster in Thor
Portman’s role was more than just the pretty eye candy; she was able to discover the astronomical anomalies happening on Earth through her scientific research.

Like her brilliant scientist character, Portman was a psychology graduate from Harvard.

Kenneth Branagh Was So Mesmerized With Natalie Portman’s Intelligence

Thor’s co-screenwriter Zack Stentz revealed in an excerpt from MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios how director Kenneth Branagh perceived Natalie Portman when he first met the actress. He stated via Vanity Fair:

“He was very taken with her, not in a romantic way, but with her intelligence. Jane is a physicist, and we needed someone who could convey that intelligence.

That’s what struck him about her: He said, forgive me, ‘Because the last thing we need is nuclear physicist Denise Richards.’”

Denise Richards and Pierce Brosnan
Denise Richards played a nuclear physicist in the 1999 James Bond movie The World Is Not Enough.

Her performance was critically panned that she took home a Razzie award for it.

The actress expressed her dismay after fans slammed her s*xualized role in Pierce Brosnan’s film. She told USA Today:“So many people made fun of how I was dressed when the movie came out. That’s part of the appeal of Bond.

These Bond girls are so outrageous, and if I did really look like a scientist, the Bond fans would have been disappointed.”

“One of my most vivid memories of those notes sessions was Branagh didn’t like the name Mjölnir because it’s difficult to pronounce.

He turned to all of us and asked, ‘Do we have to call the hammer ‘Mjölnir’? I see that it’s made out of some metal called ‘Uru.’ Could we call it Uru instead? Or would the fanboys string me up?’”

Feige warned the director that the fanboys would definitely string him up if he changed the name.

Meanwhile, Natalie Portman agreed to join the Marvel franchise hoping Branagh would make her character “super weird.”