Boleyn sisters hit the UK

By Sarah Jane Griffiths
Newsbeat entertainment reporter

Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman have been talking about their new movie The Other Boleyn Girl. The pair play two beautiful sisters, Anne and Mary Boleyn. Driven by their family's blind ambition, they compete for the love of the handsome and passionate King Henry VIII played by Eric Bana. Newsbeat has been talking to all three stars about traumatic scenes, their difficulty with English accents and slipping into uncomfortable costumes.

Does having two leading ladies take the pressure off you?

Natalie: "It makes doing press so much easier and it's so much more fun."

Scarlett: "Yeah and also our characters in this film are going through such trauma and situations that are beyond their control. To be able to go through that with somebody else made all the difference in the world. It was just nice to have the support there and a real partner in the production."

You had two beautiful leading ladies. How did you cope with that?

Eric: "I coped. They were total sweethearts to me, they indulged me and spoilt me rotten. So it was a treat."

They obviously got on really well. Did you feel a bit left out by that?

Eric: "I had a very different relationship with the pair of them. I had a very brotherly, sisterly relationship with both of them really. Unfortunately I never got to have both of them in the scenes together very often, it was either one or the other."

I know you had your kids on set quite a lot. Did they enjoy that?

Eric Bana said the girls spoilt him rotten on set

Eric: "Yeah there was a bad side of that. When my son met Natalie and Scarlett on the first day of filming he was absolutely mortified that I was going to be responsible for perhaps killing one of them.

He kept asking me, 'Are you sure dad? Are you sure Queen Anne is going to die? Is there something you can do about it?'. I said, 'Trust me mate there is nothing I can do about it'."

Were you shocked that the two sisters were being pimped out by their dad?

Natalie: "It was interesting to see the origins of marriage and empire building in the sense that you could marry your daughter off to a wealthy man or even have your daughter be a mistress to the King and advance your family's position.

"It's not so dissimilar with what happens today in the sense that a lot of women make their own decisions to marry someone with wealth or power to advance their own position. It makes you question how women's opportunities have really changed when that seems like the best option for getting ahead."

It's an exciting challenge for us as actors because the intonation in the English accent is so different Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett: "Yeah and I think it's ignorant for us to assume that this kind of thing doesn't go on in other parts of the world and seeing the restrictions placed on women.

"I think we're much more conservative than we like to think. It wasn't so shocking to us in the sense we thought, 'How could this be?'. We've come so far. We are all kind of aware of this privy to the story. I don't think its that far removed."

How are you feeling about your English accents being judged at the UK premiere as well?

Scarlett: "It's an exciting challenge for us as actors because the intonation is so different. Just being comfortable and making these words our own and trying to make our accent the first and foremost thing people notice is restricting but also freeing in a way because you have a confidence in yourself and you're like, 'Alright, I'm gonna sell it'."

Obviously the costumes are absolutely fabulous. Did you enjoy wearing those?

Natalie: "They were incredible, Sandy Powell (costume designer) did an amazing job, she always does making these beautiful pieces. It is both a help in understanding what your character might move like, might be restricted by, how she might stand. But also it's not fun after you eat lunch and you have to put the costume back on and you have a hard time breathing."

Scarlett, as well as the movie you have been working on a record with David Bowie. How did that come about?

Scarlett: "He just appeared out of a cloud of smoke. It was amazing. I just handed him a drink ticket and I was like, 'Alright come on board'. It was an incredible opportunity and he was really enthusiastic about helping out. I just got very lucky with that."

For a debut album you couldn't really ask for a bigger star to work with?

Scarlett: "I think it's more than the fact that he's a bigger star, he's such an incredible musical talent, he's a pro.

Scarlett Johansson said she had difficulty with the English accent

"He has such an appreciation for a lot of up and coming bands and he is really supportive of a lot of up and coming artists.

"It's just really exciting to work with somebody who has such an enthusiasm for what they do even after being in the industry for 30 something years. It's nice to see the enthusiam for the craft doesn't die."