THE CLOCK HAS just passed noon, but Natalie Portman is looking like she’s just swanned in from a chic evening gala. The elegant actress is wearing a loose-fitting black trouser suit. We’re meeting in May, at the world’s most famous film festival, long before the SAG-AFTRA union has called on its acting community to strike against the studios. Portman has graced the famous Palais steps before—notably that arresting moment when she stepped out for 2005’s Star Wars movie Revenge of the Sith with her head shaved.
Her brown locks grown back out, today is something special. The Israeli-born American star is here with , the new film from the esteemed director Todd Haynes (). Not only does she co-star with the luminous Julianne Moore in a complex but compelling yarn about identity, creativity and the vampiric nature of acting, but it also marks the first film she’s produced for her company MountainA, alongside producing partner Sophie Mas.
