For Natalie Portman, filming Evey Hammond’s head-shaving scene in V for Vendetta came with a pressure most scenes do not: there would be no second chance to grow her hair back before trying again.
In a new PEOPLE interview marking the film’s 20th anniversary, Portman reflects on the experience and the care taken to capture the moment. Director James McTeigue says the crew filmed with three cameras, while Portman’s personal hairdresser was there for the shave.
The scene remains one of the film’s most memorable turns for Evey, who is imprisoned and tortured by the regime before emerging changed by what she has endured. Portman’s performance makes the character’s fear and resolve feel inseparable, giving the sequence weight beyond its striking visual transformation.
The anniversary conversation arrives just ahead of the film’s return to theaters. V for Vendetta will screen nationwide on November 1 and November 5, 2026, through Fathom Entertainment, Saga Arts and Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group. The event also includes a new introduction from McTeigue. Check Fathom’s anniversary announcement for the event details.
The 2006 film stars Portman as Evey and Hugo Weaving as V, a masked revolutionary fighting the authoritarian government of a future Britain. Based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, it was directed by McTeigue and written and produced by the Wachowskis.
Revisit GVN’s V for Vendetta 4K review ahead of the anniversary screenings.
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