Klingons (Klingon: tlhIngan, pronounced [ˈt͡ɬɪŋɑn]) are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.

Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series, along with eight of the feature films. Initially intended to be antagonists for the crew of the USS Enterprise, the Klingons ended up a close ally of humanity and the United Federation of Planets in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager. In the 1990s series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine the United Federation of Planets briefly goes to war with the Klingons. Later in the series, the two join together with the Romulans to fight the Dominion.

As originally developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon, Klingons were darkly colored humanoids with little honor, intended as an allegory to the Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, though Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry did not aspire to any political parallels. With a greatly expanded budget for makeup and effects, the Klingons were completely redesigned in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), gaining ridged foreheads that created a continuity error not explained by Star Trek canon until 2005. In later films and the spin-off series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the militaristic traits of the Klingons were bolstered by an increased sense of honor and strict warrior code.

Among the elements created for the revised Klingons was a complete language, developed by Marc Okrand off gibberish suggested by actor James Doohan. Klingon has entered popular culture; the works of William Shakespeare and even parts of the Bible have been translated into the glottural language. A dictionary, a book of sayings, and a cultural guide to the language have been published. In addition, according to Guinness World Records, Klingon is the most popular fictional language by number of speakers.

Design[link]

Conception[link]

The Klingons were created by screenwriter Gene L. Coon, and first appeared in the 1967 episode "Errand of Mercy". They were named after Lieutenant Wilbur Clingan, who served with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry in the Los Angeles Police Department.^[2] In the original television series (TOS), Klingons were typically portrayed with bronze skin and facial hair suggestive of Asian peoples, and possessed physical abilities similar to humans (in fact, Coon's only physical description of them in his "Errand of Mercy" script is "oriental" and "hard-faced"). The swarthy look of Klingon males was created with the application of shoe polish and long, thin moustaches; budget constraints would not allow any further creativity.^[3] The overall look of the aliens, played by white actors, suggested orientalism, at a time when memories of Japanese actions during World War II were still fresh.^[4] The production crew never came to an agreement on the name "Klingon"; Coon was adamant about keeping the name, and it persisted because no one else offered up a better name.^[5] The Klingons took on the role of the Soviet Union in opposition to the United States' future counterpart, the United Federation of Planets.^[6] As such, they were generally portrayed as inferior to the crew of the Enterprise.^[7] While occasionally capable of honor, this depiction treated the Klingons as close to wild animals.^[5] Overall, they were shown without redeeming qualities—brutish, scheming, and murderous.^[4] Klingons became the primary antagonists of the Enterprise crew, in part because the makeup necessary to make Romulans was too time-consuming and costly.^[8]

For the first two seasons, no Klingon ships were seen despite being frequently mentioned. This was because of budget constraints— designer Matt Jefferies did not have the money to create a Klingon ship until the third season. When the episodes were remastered beginning in 2006, Klingon ships were digitally inserted into shots earlier than their original appearances.^[9]

Redesign[link]

For Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the Klingons were retconned and their appearance and behavior radically changed. To give the aliens a more sophisticated and threatening demeanor, the Klingons were depicted with ridged foreheads, snaggled and prominent teeth, and a defined language and alphabet. Lee Cole, a production designer, used red gels and primitive shapes in the design of Klingon consoles and ship interiors, which took on a dark and moody atmosphere. The alphabet was designed as angular, with sharp edges harkening to the Klingon's militaristic focus.^[5] Costume designer Robert Fletcher created new uniforms for the Klingons, reminiscent of feudal Japanese armor.

While no Klingon characters were seen in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, their appearance as the central enemy in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) led to minor alterations. For the third generation of Klingons, the heavy, cragged head ridges of The Motion Picture were redesigned and made less pronounced. While Fletcher was happy with the original film uniforms, more had to be created as the old costumes had been lost, destroyed, or loaned out and altered irreparably. New costumes were fabricated, retaining the air of feudal Japanese design; Fletcher thought it was an important part of the Klingon authoritarian attitude.^[10] New Klingon weaponry, including an energy weapon and a special knife known as a d'k tahg, were designed.

The release of a new television series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, prompted a further revision in the depiction of Klingon culture, though Gene Roddenberry had wanted to avoid re-appearances of races from the old series.^[12] Set a century later than the original series, the USS Enterprise-D featured a Klingon crewmember, Worf. Makeup artist Michael Westmore needed a consistent reference to base the Klingon look on, as each individual Klingon had distinct head ridges. He found what he was looking for in a book of dinosaurs; observing dinosaur vertebrae laid out flat, Westmore cut the designs in half and modified them to suit each Klingon. Westmore designed his Klingons' beards to be Elizabethan, combining prehistoric and aristocratic elements to give audiences a feeling of depth from the appearance. Over time, Westmore and the other makeup artists designed different sizes of prosthetic headpieces which could be quickly applied and modified to save time; the amount of preparation to turn an actor into a Klingon decreased from around three hours to one. While important characters had custom headpieces, background actors used pre-made masks with minor touchup around the eyes and mouth.^[5] The Next Generation effects artist Dan Curry used his martial arts experience to create a flowing fighting style for the race.^[13] When the episode "Reunion" called for a special Klingon blade, Curry drew on Far East influences to develop a weapon known as the bat'leth. Curry, a collector of weapons, was annoyed by fictional weaponry that was designed to "look cool" but could not be handled practically. Curry combined elements of the Himalayan kukri, Chinese axes and fighting crescents to create a two-handed, curved weapon that has since been widely used in the franchise.^[14]

The culture of the Klingons began to resemble revised western stereotypes of civilizations such as the Zulu, the Vikings, and various Native American nations — as a proud, warlike and principled race.^[7] Whereas the TOS Klingons served as an allegory to contemporary totalitarian regimes, The Next Generation Klingons held principles more in line with Bushidō; actor Michael Dorn stated that without the revision in Klingon culture, his character, Worf, would not have been a Starfleet officer.^[5] With the first Klingon-centric story in The Next Generation, the first season episode "Heart of Glory", the Klingons once again became an important part of the Star Trek universe,^[15] and by the advent of the series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Klingons had fully become heroes rather than villains.^[4]

The final Star Trek film to feature the entire cast from the original television series, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) served to bridge the original series Klingons at war with the Federation to the time of The Next Generation, and presents a subtly different treatment of the race. At the time of the film's development, the Soviet Union was collapsing, and with the advent of glasnost the old allegory of Klingons as Russians was becoming obsolete.^[16] The Klingons were redesigned to evoke the Nazis, with the red, white and black Klingon flag deliberately similar to that of the National Socialist German Workers Party. The Klingons in the film liberally quote Shakespeare, a trait stemming from director Nicholas Meyer's comparison of the Empire's appropriation of Shakespeare to the Nazis' similar attempt in the 1930s. Meyer also felt it was apropos for Shakespearean actors such as Christopher Plummer and David Warner to speak the lines.^[17] The breakdown of the Klingons' empire because of a Chernobyl-like incident results in a new age for the Federation and Klingons, leading to the time of The Next Generation and later series where the two governments are trade partners and occasional allies.^[18] Starfleet members are shown to be highly bigoted against Klingons, who in turn feel that their way of life will be obliterated by peace.^[17] The Klingons were given new uniforms designed by Dodie Shepard, in part because there were not enough of Fletcher's The Motion Picture costumes to meet the demands of the film.^[19]

Dorn described playing a Klingon as simple, joking that after hours sitting in a makeup chair, actors were highly motivated to get the dialogue right the first time.^[5] Repeat Klingon Robert O'Reilly told all neophyte Klingons that the most important part of speaking was to say the lines with belief and "go all the way". When O'Reilly and Dorn's character had a confrontation, makeup artists wiped spittle off each between takes, a consequence of the harsh-sounding language.^[20] Todd Bryant (Captain Klaa in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier) similarly noted that if an actor was projectile-spitting on others as he spoke Klingon, he was doing a great job.^[21]

When filming The Undiscovered Country, Christopher Plummer asked director Nicholas Meyer to adapt his character's look, feeling the heavy forehead appliances looked rather fake. Instead, Plummer's character, General Chang, was made bald with very subdued ridges and an eyepatch bolted to his skull. Plummer felt that the unique appearance helped "humanize" the character.^[22] In contrast to white actors portraying the warriors, more recent Klingon roles have been predominantly played by black actors.^[4]

Explanation and theories[link]

According to the official Star Trek web site, the Klingons' varying appearance was "probably the single most popular topic of conversation among Star Trek fans".^[23] While the real reason for the discrepancy between The Original Series Klingons and their feature film and later television series counterparts was a lack of budget, fans took it upon themselves to contrive an acceptable canon reason for the sudden change.^[24] These theories postulated that TOS Klingons were in fact humans raised as Klingons, similar to Janissaries; that for cosmetic or diplomatic reasons, Klingons removed the ridges via surgery; or that TOS Klingons were in fact hybrids with a more human species.^[25] Simple theories that the different Klingons were different racial breeds were complicated by the fact that the characters of Kang, Koloth, and Kor appeared with smooth features in the original series, yet reverted to a ridged appearance in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and that Worf acknowledged the difference in appearances when the crew of Deep Space 9 returned to the 23rd century in the episode "Trials and Tribble-ations," but offered no explanation, saying merely, "We do not discuss it with outsiders."^[24]

A canonical explanation for the change was given in a two-part storyline on Star Trek: Enterprise. The two episodes, "Affliction" and "Divergence", aired in February 2005. An earlier story arc featured the Augments, genetically-engineered humans (similar to Khan), left over from the Eugenics Wars of the late 20th century, and who were defeated by Captain Jonathan Archer and the Enterprise in Klingon space. The Klingon High Council fears that Starfleet was developing armies of Augments; after gaining access to genetic material from the Augments, the Klingons perform experiments to increase their own intellect and strength. The experiments turn disastrous when a flu strain mutates and becomes a deadly plague that spreads across the Empire, causing physical changes resulting in the afflicted bearing a TOS-era appearance. Dr. Phlox of the Enterprise formulates a cure for the virus, but the physical alterations remain in the populace and are inherited by offspring. Phlox indicated that "someday" the physical alterations could be reversed.^[26][27]

Attributes[link]

Culture[link]

In comparison to The Original Series, Klingon culture is thoroughly examined in later series episodes, part of a larger movement by Star Trek writers to deepen viewer understanding of the alien races of the franchise.^[28] The Klingons adhere to a strict code of honor, similar to feudal Japanese customs. Their society is based on war and combat; ritual suicide is often preferred over living life as a crippled warrior, and may allow a warrior to die with honor. To be captured rather than killed in battle brings dishonor to not only the captive but his descendants. Death is depicted as a time for celebration, not grief.^[29]

Klingons are depicted as a spiritual people. According to their legends, Klingons slew their own gods.^[13] The equivalents to heaven and hell are called Sto-Vo-Kor and Gre'Thor, respectively; in Sto-Vo-Kor, battle and feasting can be eternally won and shared, while those sent to Gre'Thor are condemned to eternal torture unless their honor is restored by living relatives. Those who do not die in battle may not enter Sto-Vo-Kor; relatives undertake quests to guarantee their deceased comrades entry into paradise. Despite believing in an afterlife, the Klingons perform no burial rites, and dispose of corpses by the most efficient means.^[29]

The Klingon's spiritual leader is Kahless, a messianic figure who established early codes of honor and was the first Klingon emperor. His fabled weapon, the Sword of Kahless, is depicted as a unique bat'leth that serves as the Klingon equivalent of the Holy Grail.^[30] In the TNG episode "Rightful Heir", Kahless appears in the flesh to Worf, who had doubted his Klingon faith.^[31] This Kahless is revealed to be a clone, created in an attempt to bring Klingons together, and who is chosen to lead the Klingon people as a figurehead.^[13]

Klingons are passionate opera lovers.^[32] The first Klingon opera on Earth performed entirely in the Klingon language is ’u’, which debuted in The Hague in September 2010.^[33]

Language[link]

Marc Okrand is the author of several books about the Klingon language, which he developed.

The Klingons have their own language that was developed for the feature films, often described as "guttural." For The Motion Picture, James Doohan, the actor who portrayed Montgomery Scott, devised the initial Klingon-language dialogue heard in the film.^[34] For The Search for Spock, Marc Okrand, who created the Vulcan dialogue used in the previous film, developed an actual working Klingon language based on Doohan's original made-up words.^[35]

Okrand was presented with a difficult task of contriving a language that sounded alien, while still simple enough for the actors to pronounce.^[5] While most constructed languages or conlangs follow basic tenets of natural languages — for example, all languages have an "ah" sound — Okrand deliberately broke them. He chose the rarest form of sentence construction, the object-verb-subject form: the translation of the phrase "I boarded the Enterprise", would be constructed as "The Enterprise boarded I."^[36] Okrand reasoned the language would be indicative of the culture, the Klingon's language focuses on actions and verbs. Adjectives do not strictly exist; there is no word for "greedy", but there is a verb, qur, which means "to be greedy".^[37] The language does not contain the verb "to be", which meant Okrand had to create a workaround when director Nicholas Meyer wanted his Klingons to quote Shakespeare and the famous line "to be, or not to be" in The Undiscovered Country.^[5] Initially, Okrand came up with "to live or not live", but Plummer did not like the sound of the line. Okrand went back and revised the phrase to "taH pagh, taHbe' ", roughly meaning "whether to continue, or not to continue [existence]".^[5] The Klingon language has a small vocabulary compared to natural languages, containing around 2,000 words.^[20]

Okrand convinced Pocket Books to publish the The Klingon Dictionary in 1985; in it, Okrand elaborated on the Klingon language's grammar, syntax and vocabulary. While Okrand expected the book to only sell as a novelty item, eleven years after publication the book had sold 250,000 copies.^[37] Dedicated Klingon enthusiasts, some but not all Star Trek fans, created the Klingon Language Institute, which published multiple magazines in the language. While Paramount initially tried to stop the Institute from using their copyrighted language, the company eventually relented. The Institute has since published Klingon translations of Hamlet, Much Ado about Nothing, Tao Te Ching, Gilgamesh and has translations of some books from the Bible on its website.^[20] The Bible proved to be difficult to translate, as Christian concepts like atonement—and words like God (until the recent addition of Qun meaning "god")—are not found in the Klingon vernacular. From time to time, Okrand has amended the "official" list of Klingon vocabulary due in part to requests from the Institute and other groups.^[38] Other Klingon groups include blood drives, bowling teams, and a Klingon golf championship.^[39]

The Klingon language's prevalence is not limited to books; a three-disc video game, Star Trek: Klingon, requires players to learn the language in order to advance.^[40] In May 2009, a joint collaboration between the KLI, Simon & Schuster, and Ultralingua launched the Klingon Language Suite for the iPhone concurrent with the release of the new movie. The popularity of the language meant that in 1996 it was considered the fastest-growing constructed language, ahead of other languages such as Tolkien's Elvish or Esperanto. While the language is widespread, mastery of the language is extremely uncommon; there are only around a dozen fluent speakers of the language. Okrand himself is not fluent, and the actors who speak the language in the Star Trek series are more concerned with its expression than the actual grammar.^[37] According to the 2006 edition of Guinness World Records, Klingon is the most spoken fictional language by number of speakers,^[41] Klingon is one of many language interfaces in the Google search engine,^[42] and a Klingon character was included in the Wikipedia logo^[43] prior to its May 2010 update, when it was replaced by a Geʿez character.

Starships[link]

As the Klingons are portrayed as a warrior culture, Klingon starships are usually depicted as warships, heavily armed with a variety of particle beam weaponry and antimatter warheads. Many Klingon ships also make use of cloaking technology to hide the vessel from view. The first Klingon ship design used in The Original Series, the D7-class battlecruiser, was designed by Matt Jefferies to evoke a predator's shape akin to that of a manta ray, providing a threatening and instantly recognisable form for viewers. The configuration of Jefferies' design featured a bulbous forward hull connected by a long boom to a wing-like main hull with the engine nacelles mounted on each wingtip. Later Klingon starships by other designers kept to this same overall configuration, although updated to reflect their respective time periods: Rick Sternbach's designs for The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine drew on elements of Starfleet ships features to reflect the alliance between the Federation and the Klingons,^[44] while John Eaves' designs for Enterprise incorporated more rugged and primitive construction to make the vessels appear consistent with the earlier time period.

Homeworld[link]

Qo'noS (Pronounced "Kronos") is the Klingon homeworld, also known as Kronos. Early Star Trek literature referred to Qo'noS as "Klinzhai", but the TNG episode "Heart of Glory" called the planet "Kling". It was the film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country which officially established the name as Qo'noS. Qo'noS is depicted as green in color when viewed from orbital space. It includes a lone huge land mass with a vast ocean, a severely tilted axis that causes wild seasonal changes, a turbulent atmosphere and extremes of both warm and frigid weather. The destruction of the planet's moon, Praxis, was a plot point in the film The Undiscovered Country, the after effects driving the plot of the film and later events in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.

See also[link]

Star Trek portal

• Klingon High Council
• Worf

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Klingon

Wikibooks has more on the topic of Klingon

• Klingon at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
• StarTrek.com—The Official Star Trek website
• Klingon Language Institute—Authority for the Klingon Language

Mila Kunis
Kunis on a Family Guy panel at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2009
Born	Milena Markovna Kunis/Milena Markivna Kunis[1][2] (1983-08-14) August 14, 1983 (age 28) Chernivtsi, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Alma mater	Loyola Marymount University
Occupation	Actress, voice artist
Years active	1994–present
Home town	Los Angeles, California
Partner	Macaulay Culkin (2002–2010)

Milena "Mila" Kunis (Russian: Милена "Mилa" Кунис; Ukrainian: Мілена "Miлa" Куніс;^[1] born August 14, 1983;  /ˈmiːlə ˈkuːnɪs/) is an American actress. At the age of seven, she moved from Ukraine to Los Angeles, California with her family. After being enrolled in acting classes to help learn English, she was soon discovered by an agent. She appeared in TV shows and commercials, before her first significant role, playing Jackie Burkhart on the TV series That '70s Show. A year later, she was cast as the voice of Meg Griffin on the animated series Family Guy.

Her breakout film role came in 2008, playing Rachel Jansen in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Subsequent film roles included Mona Sax in Max Payne, Solara in The Book of Eli, and Jamie in Friends with Benefits. Her performance as Lily in Black Swan gained her worldwide accolades, including receiving the Premio Marcello Mastroianni for Best Young Actor or Actress at the 67th Venice International Film Festival, and nominations for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role.

She has received substantial media attention for her beauty, including often landing on the "Hot 100" lists for publications such as Maxim or FHM and routinely appearing on the cover of national magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar and GQ magazine. Her star status was further enhanced when she signed on to be the face of the Christian Dior Spring fashion campaign. At the age of 18, she began a relationship with actor Macaulay Culkin that lasted eight years.^[3]

Early life[link]

Kunis was born in Chernivtsi in the Ukrainian SSR.^[4][5] She is the daughter of Elvira, a physics teacher and drug store manager, and Mark, a mechanical engineer and cab company executive. Kunis has an older brother, Michael.^[6] In 1991, when she was seven years old, her family moved to Los Angeles, California. Kunis is Jewish and has cited antisemitism in the former Soviet Union as one of several reasons for her family's move to the U.S.^[5][7][8] She has stated that her parents "raised [her] Jewish as much as they could", though religion was suppressed in the Soviet Union.^[5]

On her second day in Los Angeles, Kunis was enrolled at Rosewood Elementary School not knowing a word of English. "I blocked out second grade completely. I have no recollection of it. I always talk to my mom and my grandma about it. It was because I cried every day. I didn't understand the culture. I didn't understand the people. I didn't understand the language. My first sentence of my essay to get into college was like, 'Imagine being blind and deaf at age seven.' And that's kind of what it felt like moving to the States."^[9]

Education[link]

In Los Angeles, she attended Hubert Howe Bancroft Middle School.^[10] She was mostly taught by an on-set tutor for her high school years while filming That '70s Show.^[11] When not on the set, she attended Fairfax High School, where she graduated in 2001.^[7] She briefly attended UCLA and Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.^[6][12]

Career[link]

Television[link]

At age nine, Kunis' father enrolled her in acting classes after school at the Beverly Hills Studios, where she met Susan Curtis, who would become her manager.^[13][14] Her first TV role was in 1994 as the young Hope Williams on an episode of the popular soap opera Days of our Lives.^[15] She had a minor role on 7th Heaven^[11] and supporting roles in Santa with Muscles, Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, and the Angelina Jolie film Gia, as the young Gia Carangi.^[6]

In 1998, Kunis was cast as Jackie Burkhart in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show. All who auditioned were required to be at least 18 years old; Kunis, who was 14 at the time, told the casting directors she would be 18 but did not say when. Though they eventually figured it out, the producers still thought Kunis was the best fit for the role.^[5][14] That '70s Show ran for eight seasons.^[16]

In 1999, Kunis replaced Lacey Chabert in the role of Meg Griffin on the animated sitcom Family Guy,^[17] created by Seth MacFarlane for Fox. Kunis won the role after auditions and a slight rewrite of the character, in part due to her performance on That '70s Show.^[18] MacFarlane called Kunis back after her first audition, instructing her to speak slower, and then told her to come back another time and enunciate more. Once she claimed that she had it under control, MacFarlane hired her.^[18] MacFarlane added: "What Mila Kunis brought to it was in a lot of ways, I thought, almost more right for the character. I say that Lacey did a phenomenal job, but there was something about Mila – something very natural about Mila. She was 15 when she started, so you were listening to a 15-year-old. Which oftentimes with animation they'll have adult actors doing the voices of teenagers and they always sound like Saturday morning voices. They sound, oftentimes, very forced. She had a very natural quality to Meg that really made what we did with that character kind of really work."^[19] Kunis was nominated for an Annie Award in the category of Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production in 2007.^[20] She also voiced Meg in the Family Guy Video Game!. Kunis described her character as "the scapegoat."^[21]

Film work, 2001–2008[link]

In 2001, she appeared in Get Over It opposite Kirsten Dunst. She followed that up in 2002, by starring in the straight-to-DVD horror film American Psycho 2 alongside William Shatner, a sequel to the 2000 film American Psycho. American Psycho 2 was panned by critics,^[22] and later, Kunis herself expressed embarrassment over the film.^[23] In 2004, Kunis starred in the film adaptation Tony n' Tina's Wedding. Although the film was shot in 2004, it did not have a theatrical release until 2007.^[24] Most critics did not like the film, which mustered a 25% approval from Rotten Tomatoes.^[25] DVD talk concluded that "fans would be much better off pretending the movie never happened in the first place".^[26]

In 2005, Kunis co-starred with Jon Heder in Moving McAllister, which was not released theatrically until 2007.^[27] The film received generally poor reviews and had a limited two week run in theaters.^[28][29] She followed up with After Sex starring alongside Zoe Saldana, who had also appeared in Get Over It.^[30] In October 2006, she began filming Boot Camp (originally titled Straight Edge).^[31] Although the film did not have a theatrical release in the United States, it was released on DVD on August 25, 2009.^[32]

Kunis at the premiere of Max Payne in 2008

Kunis starred as Rachel Jansen in the 2008 comedy, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, co-produced by Judd Apatow. The role, which she got after unsuccessfully auditioning for Knocked Up,^[33] entailed improvisation on her part.^[34] The film garnered positive reviews,^[35] and was a commercial success, grossing $105 million worldwide.^[36] Kunis' performance was well-received; Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal praised her "fresh beauty and focused energy",^[37] while James Berardinelli wrote that she is "adept with her performance and understands the concept of comic timing".^[38] She was nominated for a Teen Choice Award.^[39] In an interview, Kunis credited Apatow with helping her to expand her career from That '70s Show.^[33]

Also in 2008, she portrayed Mona Sax, an assassin, alongside Mark Wahlberg in the action movie Max Payne, based on the video game of the same name. Kunis underwent training in guns, boxing, and martial arts for her role.^[40] Max Payne was relatively successful at the box office, grossing $85 million worldwide^[41] but was panned by critics,^[42] with several reviewers calling Kunis miscast.^[43][44] Travis Estvold of Boise Weekly wrote that she's "horribly miscast as some sort of undersized, warble-voiced crime boss".^[45] Director John Moore defended his choice of Kunis saying, "Mila just bowled us over...She wasn't an obvious choice, but she just wears Mona so well. We needed someone who would not be just a fop or foil to Max; we needed somebody who had to be that character and convey her own agenda. I think Mila just knocked it out of the park.".^[40] She was nominated for another Teen Choice Award for her role in the film.^[46]

2009–present[link]

In 2009, she appeared in the comedy Extract with Ben Affleck and Jason Bateman. The film received mostly positive reviews,^[47] and grossed $10.8 million at the box office.^[48] Roger Ebert, while critical of the film itself, wrote that Kunis "brings her role to within shouting distance of credibility."^[49] Director Mike Judge commented that part of what was surprising to learn about Kunis was her ability to make references to the cult animation film Rejected. Judge said: "As beautiful as Mila is, you could believe that maybe she would cross paths with you in the real world."^[50] After seeing Kunis perform in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Judge wanted to cast her in the role of Cindy in Extract: "I just thought, 'Wow, this girl's perfect.' And she really wanted to do it, which was fantastic." Said Kunis, "I'm a huge fan of Mike Judge's from Office Space, so I was, like, 'Okay, this is a very easy decision.' I told them I would do anything needed to be in this production – like craft service, or, say, acting."^[51]

In 2010, she starred alongside Denzel Washington in the action film The Book of Eli. Although the film received mixed reviews,^[52] it performed well at the box office, grossing over $157 million worldwide.^[53] Film critic Richard Roeper praised Kunis' performance, calling it a "particularly strong piece of work".^[54] Several other reviews were equally positive of her performance, including Pete Hammond of Boxoffice magazine, who wrote that she is "ideally cast in the key female role"^[55] Even reviewers who did not necessarily like the film complimented her performance, such as James Berardinelli, who stated that "the demands of the role prove to be within her range, which is perhaps surprising considering she has been thus far pigeonholed into more lightweight parts",^[56] and Colin Covert of the Star Tribune, who wrote that she "generated a spark and brought a degree of determination to her character, developing an independent female character who's not always in need of rescuing."^[57] Other critics, such as Claudia Puig of USA Today felt she was miscast, stating "she looked as if she dropped in from a Ray-Ban commercial".^[58][59][60] Kunis received another Teen Choice Award nomination for her performance.^[61][62] Kunis was also cast in a minor role in the 2010 comedy Date Night, starring Tina Fey and Steve Carell.^[63] She garnered several positive reviews for her performance.^[64][65][66] Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune concluded her performance with James Franco helped save the film and gave it "a shot in the arm".^[67]

She and Natalie Portman played rival ballet dancers in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan. Kunis, who was cast in the film based on her performance in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and on the recommendation of costar Natalie Portman,^[68] underwent a training regimen that included cardiovascular exercise, a 1,200-calorie a day diet (she lost 20 pounds that she regained after filming ended), and ballet classes for four hours a day, seven days a week.^[69][70][71] During the demanding production, she suffered injuries including a torn ligament and a dislocated shoulder.^[72] Black Swan has received widespread acclaim from critics^[73] and was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.^[74] The film grossed over $100 million (106.9 million) in the US and Canada^[75] while grossing over $329 million worldwide.^[76] Reviews of Kunis' performance have been positive,^[77][78][79] with Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter stating, "Kunis makes a perfect alternate to Portman, equally as lithe and dark but a smirk of self-assurance in place of Portman's wide-eyed fearfulness."^[80] Guy Lodge of In Contention also praised Kunis, saying, "it's the cool, throaty-voiced Kunis who is the surprise package here, intelligently watching and reflecting her co-star in such a manner that we're as uncertain as Nina of her ingenuousness."^[81] Kunis' performance won her the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor or Actress at the 67th Venice International Film Festival,^[82] and earned her Golden Globe Award ^[83]and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress.^[84] At the 37th annual Saturn Awards she was also honored with the Best Supporting Actress award for her performance.^[85]

Kunis was cast alongside Justin Timberlake in the romantic comedy Friends with Benefits.^[86] Director Will Gluck stated that he wrote the story with Kunis and Timberlake in mind.^[87] Friends with Benefits achieved success at the box office, grossing over $149 million worldwide,^[88] and received mostly positive reviews with critics praising the chemistry between Kunis and Timberlake.^[89] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times wrote that "Ms. Kunis is fast proving that she's a gift that keeps giving to mainstream romantic comedy" and "her energy is so invigorating and expansive and her presence so vibrant that she fills the screen".^[90]

In July, 2012 will be the release of her next film Ted, co-starring Mark Wahlberg, and directed and co-written by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane.^[91] Ted will be followed in March, 2013 by the upcoming Walt Disney Pictures' prequel, Oz: The Great and Powerful, where she will play Theodora, the youngest of three witches, opposite James Franco.^[92] Also set for a 2013 release will be Blood Ties with Kunis co-starring with Clive Owen, Billy Crudup, and Marion Cotillard.^[93]

Media publicity[link]

Kunis has attracted notable media attention for her physical appearance by various media outlets. Praise has ranged from GQ magazine naming her the Knockout of the Year for 2011 ^[94] to Men's Health naming her one of the "100 Hottest Women of All-Time". ^[95] The Spike Guys' Choice Awards have honored her twice, naming her the "Hottest Mila" at the 2009 awards ceremony^[96] and in 2011 presenting her with the Holy Grail of Hot award.^[97] AskMen.com has also lauded Kunis ranking her the second most desirable woman in 2011^[98] and following that up with a number thirteen ranking in 2012.^[99] FHM magazine ranked her number 9 on their 2012 Hot 100 list^[100] but Kunis has kept this type of media attention in perspective, saying, “You’ve got to base your career on something other than being FHM’s top 100 number one girl. Your looks are going to die out, and then what’s going to be left?”^[9] In recent years, Maxim has consistently ranked Kunis on their Hot 100 list, reaching a ranking of number 5 in both 2009 and 2011^[101]and number 3 in 2012.^[102]

In 2007, Kunis participated in a video for the website Funny or Die appearing alongside James Franco. The video was a parody of the MTV show The Hills and was a huge success for the website, with well over one million views.^[103] Shawn Levy, director of Date Night, stated that part of what made him decide to cast Kunis with James Franco in the film was the chemistry he felt they had in the Funny or Die video.^[104] In December 2008, Kunis was featured in Gap's "Shine Your Own Star" Christmas campaign.^[105] Kunis was described as one of the "most attractive geeks" by Wired.com in 2008, due to her much-publicized affinity for World of Warcraft.^[106] That same year, she was featured and on the cover of the October issue of Complex Magazine.^[107]

In 2010, she was featured in the "Women We Love" segment in Esquire with an accompanied video.^[108] For the October 2010 Elle magazine 25th anniversary special edition, Kunis was one of the women chosen to be featured for their success at a young age. The honor included a photo and video presentation on the magazine's website.^[109] Kunis was among several female stars photographed by Canadian singer/songwriter Bryan Adams in conjunction with the Calvin Klein Collections for a feature titled American Women 2010, with the proceeds from the photographs donated to the NYC AIDS foundation.^[110] Also in 2010, Kunis was featured and on the cover of the December issue of Nylon.^[111] During the summer of 2010 Kunis served with Randy Jackson as the Master of Ceremonies for the 9th Annual Chrysalis Foundation Benefit. The Chrysalis Foundation is a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization formed to help economically disadvantaged and homeless individuals to become self-sufficient through employment opportunities.^[112]

In 2011, Kunis graced the cover of the February issue of Cosmopolitan^[113] and the March issue of W magazine.^[72] For the 17th Annual Hollywood Issue of Vanity Fair, Kunis was among the actors to be chosen to appear on the cover.^[114] In support of her film Friends with Benefits she landed on the cover of Elle magazine and GQ magazine.^[115][116]

Christian Dior signed Kunis in 2012 to be the face of its Spring fashion campaign^[117] and she made the cover of the April issue of Harper's Bazaar.^[118]

Personal life[link]

Kunis began dating actor Macaulay Culkin in 2002.^[119] At one time there were rumors of the couple getting married, but Kunis denied them, saying:

I've been engaged. I think I've already been married. And I'm sure I have a child somewhere. I'm waiting to have something else happen. No, I'm not married. And no, I'm not engaged. And no, I do not have a child. No one seems to listen. And next week I'll be engaged again. I think, at one point, they were like, 'Seen shopping in Beverly Hills for engagement rings.' We were in Japan working. What is wrong with these people? Half the time you can say they misconstrued facts. But, more often than not, they just make stuff up.^[120]

In an interview with BlackBook Magazine Kunis stated that marriage is "not something that's important to me".^[121] Kunis said she tried her best to protect her and Culkin's privacy, noting that "We don't talk about it to the press. It's already more high profile than I want it to be."^[122] When questioned if it was difficult to stay out of the tabloids and press, Kunis responded: "I keep my personal life as personal as I physically, mentally, possibly can." Asked if that is difficult she said, "I don't care. I will go to my grave trying. It is hard, but I'll end up going to a bar that's a hole in the wall. I won't go to the "it's-happening" place."^[123] On January 3, 2011, Kunis' publicist confirmed reports that Kunis and Culkin had ended their relationship, saying "The split was amicable, and they remain close friends". ^[3]

Kunis attending the Marine Corps Ball in 2011

She has identified herself in interviews as a fan of the online computer game World of Warcraft and has received a certain amount of attention from the game's fan community as a result. She has not released what server she is in but says she is with her close friends in the Alliance.^[124] In a 2008 interview with Jimmy Kimmel, she stated she had not used voice chat in the game since another player recognized her voice.^[125] Although Kunis has described herself as a "computer nerd", she does not have a Myspace, Facebook or Twitter account.^[126] Kunis discussed her desire for privacy: "Why would I want to share my life with the world when it's being shared already, without my consent? The only problem with not having an account is that there are fake accounts, pretending to quote me. But what am I going to tweet about?"^[127]

Kunis enjoys traveling, and often goes on trips with her older brother, Michael. She and Michael have explored countries such as Fiji and Korea. "I like the way he travels," she explains. "He grabs a map, says, 'Let's walk,' and makes you explore."^[6] In an interview Kunis elaborated on how she likes to relax during her personal time: "I love to hang out with my friends....I love to sit home in my pajamas and watch TiVo. That brings me so much happiness. That's it. It's quiet and calm."^[128]

In January 2011, she revealed her struggle with an eye condition called chronic iritis that had caused blindness in one eye. However, a couple of months earlier she had surgery that corrected the problem.^[129] Kunis also has the condition heterochromia iridum, where the irises have different colors. One eye is brown, and the other is green.^[130]

In November 2011, Kunis was escorted by Sgt. Scott Moore to a United States Marine Corps Ball in Greenville, North Carolina. Kunis had accepted Moore's invitation in July after he posted it as a YouTube video while serving with the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, in Afghanistan's Helmand province. The event celebrated the Marine Corps' 236th anniversary.^[131]

Filmography[link]