Star Wars’ Hayden Christensen Reveals Biggest Influence on His Anakin Skywalker Performance

Summary

• Hayden Christensen took cues from Jake Lloyd’s portrayal of Anakin Skywalker during his time in the
  Star Wars
  prequels.
• Christensen revealed he focused on studying Lloyd’s mannerisms and details to bring continuity to his own performance.
• Despite online hate for his portrayal, Christensen considers playing Anakin the “greatest blessing” in his professional life.

Star Wars prequels actor, Hayden Christensen recently opened up about his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker, and how his younger counterpart informed his own performance. Christensen played Anakin Skywalker in Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. But, before Christensen began Anakin’s path to the Dark Side, Jake Lloyd played a much younger version of the character in Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Speaking at the ‘Hayden Christensen and Rosario Dawson: A Galactic Reunion’ pannel at FAN EXPO (via ScreenRant), the actor opened up about the level to which Lloyd’s performance informed his own. Christensen and Lloyd’s versions of Anakin Skywalker shared more than just a name, they also shared the same mannerisms. During the pannel, Christensen revealed that he closely studied Jake Lloyd’s performance in The Phantom Menace, picking up on the quirks and small details within the portrayal and bringing some of them to his own turn as Anakin in Episode II. Anakin’s signature half-smile was the main detail he picked up on, and the actor used this to maintain a sense of continuity over the time jump between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones.

Speaking at Awesome Con, in a video shared to X/Twitter, Christensen also addressed his ‘legacy’ as an actor, and said his time working on Star Wars was the “greatest blessing in my professional life.” Christensen said:

“But to get to be a part of Star Wars and get to play this character [Anakin Skywalker], that’s really been the greatest blessing in my professional life.”

Star Wars Fans Criticized Hayden Christensen and Jake Lloyd

Lucasfilm

Star Wars fans always seem to have some problem with the latest entry in the franchise. The current targets are the various Disney+ shows, including The Acolyte, which hasn’t even been released yet. Before that, it was Disney’s sequel trilogy starring Daisy Ridley as Rey. Newer fans may not be aware that, before they became revered by fans (thanks in part to the endless stream of memes), the prequel trilogy was a similar target of harsh criticism from fans.

Many aspects of the prequels were picked apart by fans, including the over-reliance on CGI and everything about Jar Jar Binks as a character. However, some fans took particular issue with the trilogy’s interpretation of Anakin Skywalker, leading to a slurry of online hate directed towards Jake Lloyd (who was only 8 years old during filming) and Hayden Christensen. The abuse was so harsh, it led to Jake Lloyd quitting acting completely.

Related The Acolyte Showrunner Is Reimaging Balance in the Force: ‘If You Are Unbalanced, the Force Cannot Protect You’ Leslye Headland teases the need for one to be balanced with the Force in order for it to protect the user in the upcoming Disney+ series.

Hayden Christensen has also recently spoken about the online hate directed towards his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker. Speaking to Empire, earlier this year, Christensen said:

“Because Star Wars has had the cultural impact that it has, these characters almost become public domain, where people feel a sense of ownership over them. The character was criticized, my performance was criticized, and that part sucked.”

“I didn’t understand the disconnect between the movie that I saw, and the negativity in some of the reviews.”

Christensen has since reprized the role two times on-screen. The actor first reappeared as Anakin Skywalker in the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi in 2022. Last year, Christensen made his fourth on-screen appearance as Anakin, when the character returned alongside their former Padawan in the Ahsoka series, also on Disney+.

All of Hayden Christensen’s performances as Anakin Skywalker in
Star Wars
can be streamed on Disney+.

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