Natalie Portman’s newest movie has her committing a global heist with John Krasinski in Fountain of Youth (which is streaming on your Apple TV+ subscription). The 2025 movie release has the two playing siblings on a mission to find the mythological spring. As for whether Portman has “stolen” anything in real life, the actress hesitated to answer until she got on the subject of Anakin’s braids from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.
It’s a natural trend for stars to take props from sets as a memento of their hard work. Tom Holland has admitted to stealing big props from Spider-Man sets like Tony Stark’s glasses, and Keanu Reeves kept items from The Matrix and John Wick. As for when Natalie Portman was asked on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert if she’d ever “stolen” anything before, she looked a bit hesitant to answer. But when the question changed to whether she ever took anything from a movie set, she was quick to say a monogrammed lighter from Jackie and an unusual prop from Star Wars:
I took one of Anakin’s braids from Star Wars. Cause, he had that, like, you know, clip on. And there were, like, 30 of them ‘cause he had to have a new one every— a freshie.
And here I thought Natalie Portman was going to say she stole one of Padme’s many hairpieces or accessories! That’s so strange to put a little Padawan braid in your pocket or purse. But then again, it’s hard to escape the set with a giant laser sword. So a little hair extension could be a good reminder of who her Star Wars husband used to be before joining the dark side. Now I’m curious if she ever wore it in secret.
Funnily enough, Natalie Portman said that George Lucas never knew that Anakin’s Padawan braid was in her possession. If the Star Wars creator were ever to wonder where that precious hairpiece went, the Oscar winner had an answer for Stephen Colbert:
I lost it. So, I can’t give it back.
So somewhere far, far away, there’s a little clip-on braid floating around that was once on the head of Hayden Christensen. If the rumor ends up being true that Natalie Portman could return to Star Wars, the props team may have to take inventory of their Padawan braids.
George Lucas may not have known that Natalie Portman took a Padawan braid, but her co-star Hayden Christensen sure did. Don’t worry, there’s no hard feelings, as the Canadian actor previously shared a sweet story of knowing Portman kept his hair prop and playfully offered his forgiveness to her. Something tells me he used his Jedi mindtricks to find that one out. You can watch the Instagram video of Portman’s interview in full below:
While Natalie Portman hesitated to answer if she’d ever “stolen” anything, she was quick to talk about her hilarious previous experience stealing one of Anakin’s Star Wars braids. Well, that’s one way to remember her prominent time playing the Queen of Naboo. You can see Portman and Hayden Christensen’s clip-on braid in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones with your Disney+ subscription.
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