Hayden Christensen Reveals How Jake Lloyd's Phantom Menace Portrayal Influenced His Version Of Anakin
Summary
- Hayden Christensen studied Jake Lloyd’s Anakin portrayal, adopting iconic mannerisms for continuity.
- Anakin Skywalker is a character borrowed, not owned, by Christensen, honoring George Lucas’ creation.
- Viewing Star Wars means following character journeys, not just individual actors, as roles are bigger than performers.
Speaking at FAN EXPO Philadelphia, Hayden Christensen has revealed how Jake Lloyd’s portrayal of Anakin Skywalker affected his own version. The last few years have seen Hayden Christensen return to the role of Anakin Skywalker, playing the part in Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka. But he wasn’t the first actor to play the part; Jake Lloyd played Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, and it sounds as though he had an enduring influence.
Speaking at the panel “Hayden Christensen and Rosario Dawson: A Galactic Reunion,” Christensen revealed he carefully studied Lloyd’s mannerisms and copied some of them. The most notable was the iconic half-smile, which became characteristic to all versions of Anakin. This ensured viewers got a sense of continuity, even through the different iterations.
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George Lucas’ Star Wars Is Anakin Skywalker’s Story First & Foremost
Christensen always understood that Anakin Skywalker was not his character to define; rather, he was simply embodying a character created by George Lucas, and one who had already been played by other actors. There’s a sense, then, in which Christensen didn’t “own” the role in the way many other actors do; rather, he borrowed it, and sought to honor the one who did own it. He studied other portrayals of Anakin, allowing them to influence his own performance.
This approach has a profound impact on how Star Wars‘ movies and shows should be watched. It means viewers are watching the transformative journeys of specific characters, rather than simply enjoying individual actors; the franchise and the role is bigger than the performer. Christensen understood this, and it likely helped him when he was faced with the initial (now largely muted) backlash against the sequel trilogy.
Ironically, modern Star Wars has struggled on this very point. Lucasfilm currently maintain that the reason for Solo: A Star Wars Story‘s box office failure lay in recasting, ad actors are frequently brought back via expensive de-aging – most notably Mark Hamill and even Christensen himself. There’s a sense in which this works against the very ethos of George Lucas himself, because it means the actors have become tied to the roles in a way he would have objected to. Still, this has allowed for the return of Christensen, so nobody is going to complain about Anakin Skywalker being back.
