Hayden Christensen made his acting debut at the age of 12 in 1993 when he played a supporting role in the German Canadian TV series Macht Der Leidenschaft/Family Passions. The very next year, he had a minor role in John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness. In the next couple of years, he appeared in numerous movies and TV series, including Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides and the horror anthology series Goosebumps.
These days, Hayden Christensen is best known for his role as Anakin Skywalker, also known as Darth Vader, in the beloved Star Wars franchise. In 2000, he announced that he was cast as an adult version of that character. Recently, he opened up about how he thought that he would never secure the role when he heard that Leonardo DiCaprio was being considered.
Hayden Christensen Could Have Lost the Role of Anakin Skywalker to Leonardo DiCaprio
Hayden Christensen’s casting as Anakin Skywalker came as a shock to fans of the Star Wars franchise. This was partly because he was far from the big Hollywood names who were usually cast in the franchise. However, there was someone who was more shocked than the rest, and it was Christensen himself because he had lost hope of getting the role.
Lucasfilm aims to lure the best into its galaxy, and no one knew if that best was Hayden Christensen. In fact, when the actor heard that in addition to Titanic star Leonardo DiCaprio, many other actors were being courted for the role, he believed that his chances of starring in Star Wars were zero because they would cast some other actor.
In an interview with Empire magazine, Christensen reflected on his thought process at the time, saying:
“Through the entire auditioning process I had told myself, from day one, that I wasn’t going to get the part. It just wasn’t a possibility. And I think that probably helped me a lot, because it just freed me up in a lot of ways. And so it really came as a surprise to me when I got the part.”
That must have been a pleasant surprise for the Shattered Glass actor as he had lost hopes of appearing as a Star Wars character. It has to be noted that he has DiCaprio to thank for it, even if a little bit.
Hayden Christensen on the Initial Fan Backlash Against His Casting
The road to fame is not half as easy as it might appear. Behind all the glitz and glamour of a role in a franchise as big as Star Wars, there are the muddy waters of fan backlash if one fails their expectations. No one seems to know this better than Hayden Christensen.
Although fans have come around to Christensen’s casting as Anakin Skywalker in recent years, initially his performance was criticized as much as the prequel Star Wars trilogy films in which he starred. Reflecting on this, the actor told Empire magazine:
“The character was criticized, my performance was criticized, and that part sucked.”
The Ahsoka star said that having a little bit of context on this might have helped a bit as when Star Wars: Episode I came out, people were excited to find out the backstory of Darth Vader. On one hand, some of the actor’s friends were not happy about the character’s arc starting as a kid. On the other hand, Christensen personally loved the movie, so it was hard to understand why some had criticized it.
The Star Wars prequel trilogy films can be streamed on Disney+.
