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Blissfully unaware of the unpleasant undertones of a young Jewish girl addressing a roomful of Germans about the varied pleasures of having one's hair shaved off, Natalie Portman recently told a group of reporters at the Berlin International Film Festival how much she enjoyed going follicle free for the shooting of V for Vendetta:

Natalie Portman says she fulfilled a long-standing ambition by shaving her head for the sci-fi thriller "V for Vendetta."

"I was really excited to get to shave my head _ it's something I'd wanted to do for a while and now I had a good excuse," Portman told reporters at the Berlin International Film Festival. "It was nice to shed that level of vanity for a girl."

However, "I wasn't used to being looked at so much," the 24-year-old actress said. "Walking down the street, I can usually blend in, and people really stare at you when you're a girl with a shaved head."

If we were one of the world's most exquisitely-featured and instantly recognizable actresses (sadly, we aren't) we would imagine being "looked at" would be a common occupational hazard, regardless of hair length. Still, we'll take Portman at her word, and assume her shorn do caused many a passerby head swivel and confused whisper, usually along the lines of "First the Princess Padme braided moose antlers, now this. Is she trying to de-hottify herself?"