Hayden Christensen may have started acting way before, but it was truly his iconic character of Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars universe that quite brilliantly boosted his fame in Hollywood and made him a household name. In fact, the now-42-year-old actor fit so absolutely perfectly in the role that fans now can’t imagine anyone else as Darth Vader beside him.
Yet, for one who brought balance to the Star Wars saga and perfectly explained the events that happened before the first Star Wars film from 1977, Christensen never wanted this role, but a different one because this role felt “too big” to him. But thanks to a fortunate turn of events, Hayden Christensen got cast in the very role that transformed him into a renowned Hollywood star overnight!
Hayden Christensen Candidly Reveals He Didn’t Want to Play Anakin Skywalker
Back when the casting for 1999’s Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace was underway, Hayden Christensen was nothing more than an 18-year-old aspiring actor. And though he scored acting gigs including a few from the Goosebumps franchise, he was yet to attain true fame.
This is why when his agent called him up to tell him that “they were casting for Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars,” his reaction was nothing short of “Wow, how cool.” However, at the same time, he didn’t find himself worthy of perfectly embodying the character.
As he shared during a recent interview with Empire:
“It just seemed too big. And I remember asking my agent, ‘Is there maybe another role that they’re also casting right now that you can put me up for? Because Anakin sort of seems unattainable.’”
However, since no other role was available, he “threw my name in the hat” just like all the other auditionees.
What’s more, is that this list of auditionees even reportedly included stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, who was already riding high on fame from Titanic. While this very thing “just confirmed” the Jumper star’s assumptions that “I wasn’t going to get the part,” it also eventually ended up helping him out.
“It just wasn’t a possibility,” Christensen admitted thinking. “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.”
However, everything eventually played out in his favor, much to his surprise, and Hayden Christensen ended up bagging the very role in the Star Wars universe that transformed him into a household name overnight.
At the Same Time, Hayden Christensen Feels “Very Lucky” to Bag the Part
Since Hayden Christensen was already a Star Wars fan from before (all credit to his older brother and Canadian-American film producer cum actor Tove Christensen), he knew just how great of a responsibility it was to play Anakin Skywalker.
This is why he felt daunted to have scored the role. However, at the same time, Christensen also felt truly lucky for this very role. As he continued to share with Empire:
“The scope of the opportunity — the enormity of it all — was exciting to me. It was obviously a little daunting too, but there’s a saying: ‘Pressure is privilege.’ I just felt very lucky to have it. I was really thrilled that I was gonna get to express George’s mapping out of how someone goes from good to bad.”
Well, for what it’s worth, despite being under such pressure to perfectly embody the iconic character of Anakin Skywalker, Hayden Christensen gave such a brilliant performance of a lifetime that had fans looking no further for Darth Vader than him.
