Actress opens up about portraying Jackie Kennedy in hit new film

There’s been plenty of hype surrounding Natalie Portman’s portrayal of Jackie Kennedy in the new film Jackie.

But now the actress has opened up about the role, telling Today’s entertainment editor Richard Wilkins about the film.

If you haven’t seen the trailer or haven’t read about the film, it follows Jackie Kennedy in the days following her husband’s assassination.

“The movie’s really focussed on the four days following the assassination and Jackie’s real management of the entire process of grieving, leading the Nation in its grief and also defining her husband’s legacy,” Portman said.

She revealed playing the former First Lady was “scary”.

“I think people have such an idea of what she looked like and sounded like and moved like and you want to be believable,” she said.

“I had to learn all of the dialect and the accent and the voice and the walk and all of that but then I knew emotionally that I had to put a piece of myself there too.”

Read more: Jackie Kennedy brought to life in trailer for new film

As well as learning the accent and mannerisms of Jackie, Portman also had to film some confronting scenes – including the infamous assassination.

“I think that doing the assassination scene was really awful,” she said.

“It’s really, of course, something you never really want to experience.

“It was really incredibly intense emotionally and then you’re also limited by the exact nature of everyone being very familiar with the famous Zapruder film that caught the assassination on film.”

The interview aired just days after the 53rd anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

Portman’s portrayal of the former First Lady is already being highly praised, with plenty of pundits tipping it’ll earn her an Oscar next year.

Will you be going to see the film?