The 31 year-old star of Black Swan, Leon and Closer – who is currently working on Terrence Malick’s Knight of Cups – is currently in talks with the French director about working on the forthcoming film, which will also feature Tom Hanks.

The project – an adaptation of Erik Larson’s 2011 non-fiction novel of the same name – tells the story of William Dodd (Hanks), the American Ambassador to Germany from 1933-1937, who initially dismissed reports of anti-semitism as exaggerated while living in Berlin during the early years of the Nazi government.

But Dodd became increasingly aware of the party’s attempts to wipe out the Jewish race, and after attempting to take action against the regime he resigned in December 1937 and moved back to the US, where he tried to raise awareness about the Holocaust.

According to Deadline, Hanks and his producing partner Gary Goetzman are thought to be keen on attaching Portman to the role of Martha, William’s adult daughter who engages in a number of liaisons with a number of Nazi officials including head of the Gestapo – the official secret police of Nazi Germany – Rudolf Diels.