Funny, He's Darth Vader, but It's Us Breathing Heavy

Christensen recently bought a 19th-century farm south of Toronto, so he can finally move the things he's been storing at Mom and Dad's. We ask if he kept that rat-tail Jedi braid.

"I did! Only because it was my first 'Star Wars,' and I wanted to keep as much as I could. I got a light saber, of course, and then I had to keep my boots. I keep all my characters' shoes, actually."

Shoes?

"Yeah, it's sort of the first bit of my character that I sort of decide on, while I'm figuring them out. Because that's what grounds me and it informs how I walk and how I feel on my feet."

We ask about "Virgin Territory," a period piece based on the 14th-century Italian classic "The Decameron," which Christensen filmed in Florence with Mischa Barton. It's a comedy. With no release date.

Hayden stops mid-slurp from his bowl of steaming chicken noodle.

"You know about that one? Damn. I'm not sure what they're calling it now and it's hard to speak to, because I haven't seen the film in its current state and I haven't heard boo from the people who made it. That stuff always shocks me. How people can be so flippant with money. And that for me was a real departure. It's a comedy, you know, which I've never done."

Oh, we know.