No, It Wasn't A Bad Perm

Level-headed young NATALIE PORTMAN is anticipating a range of responses to her spare new hairdo. "Some people will think I'm a neo-Nazi," the Garden State star suspects, "or that I have cancer or I'm a lesbian." We would also like to warn her of a probable "Hey, Sinéad!" faction. You see, this isn't like Britney Spears going brunet. Portman, the exotically coiffed Padmé Amidala in Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith, allowed her petite pate to be shaved on camera in Berlin last week, a process she describes as "really exciting." The 23-year-old's shoulder-length chestnut locks were sheared for a prison scene in this fall's futuristic drama V for Vendetta. In this next film from the makers of the Matrix trilogy, Portman plays a suspected terrorist in a totalitarian state. Days after the shoot, she says, "I can't stop rubbing my head. It's so soft, I might keep it for a while." Hmm, a hot new bald star with action-adventure experience? Somewhere Vin Diesel's agent is quietly freaking out.