Hayden Christensen: Anakin Skywalker – Star Wars Episode II: The Attack of the Clones (2002)
If there was such a thing as a casting dictionary, we could look up the definition of the word “Whoops” and find Hayden Christensen’s name.
Within the institution that is Star Wars, it was almost a year after the release of the dubiously received Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) before production began on Episode II: Attack of the Clones (presumably to give George Lucas chance to hear himself over the sound of all the judging). Following the tragic story of Anakin Skywalker – he who would fall in love with Princess Amidala, he who was Luke Skywalker’s father, he who would become possibly the most recognizable, dangerous and complex villains of all time – over 400 contested for the part, a pre-Scorsese Leonardo DiCaprio among them. Finally, on May 12th 2000, Hayden Christensen was announced in the role.
Christensen had had low-key success with a variety of TV roles, and a relatively brief appearance in The Virgin Suicides in 1999, but relative to the scale of Star Wars, he was unknown. Many thought that casting an unfamiliar actor in this particular role in this particular movie was an overly risky decision. The audiences’ slack-jawed responses to The Phantom Menaces’s Jar Jar Binks – the only character in history capable of making the Tellytubbies look like good company – had given the impression that some kind of genuinely medical antidote might be needed. It was imperative that Attack of the Clones was Star Wars: Return of the Form.
Lucas was confident in his choice, however, claiming that he “needed an actor that had that presence of the dark side,” and that he had found this depth in Christensen. What he got, unfortunately, was an actor that barely gave the impression of being awake, let alone of being in the grip of the sort of severe emotional turmoil that would invoke the very first proverbial turn to the dark side.
It isn’t really necessary – or even humane, in fact – to revisit the reasons that Christensen was terrible in this role, or that he fared just as badly in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) – he has two Golden Raspberry Awards for Worst Supporting Actor to do this for him. We should point out that before Attack of the Clones’ had its theatrical release, Christensen was actually nominated for both a Golden Globe and a SAG award, for his portrayal of Sam in 2001’s Life as a House (in which he ironically plays an estranged son who finally reunites with his father.) But it was too late. Christensen’s arrival onto the international movie scene would forever be remembered for failing so hard it could cut diamond.
