Marion Cotillard Says of Motherhood: 'I've Never Been More Exhausted'

Marion Cotillard received special treatment while working on "The Dark Knight Rises" -- not that her co-stars minded.

The film's director, Christopher Nolan, believed in the French actress so much that he restructured the film's $250 million production schedule around her due date, according to the August issue of Vogue. The Oscar winner, 36, and her boyfriend, actor Guillaume Canet, 39, welcomed son Marcel on May 20, 2011.

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"The word 'challenging' is thrown around as some kind of pejorative to mean an actor who's difficult. But Marion is challenging in the true sense of the word. She's so good you don't want to waste that talent," Nolan, 41, explains. "You want to hold up your end."

Nolan, who also directed Cotillard in 2010's "Inception," marveled at the actress's ability to begin filming so soon after giving birth, calling it "amazing to see." He also described her as "Superwoman."

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Since becoming a first-time mom, Cotillard, who plays Wayne Enterprises executive Miranda Tate in "The Dark Knight Rises," has struggled to find a balance between work and motherhood. "I've never been more exhausted. But I've never had more energy," she tells Vogue. "This is the paradox of being happy. That's where it comes from."

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