Hayden Christensen Gets Honest About the Experience of Playing Anakin Skywalker

Canadian actor Hayden Christensen, rose to fame when he was cast as the adult Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars. He was selected by George Lucas, who chose over 1,500 other candidates for the part. The actor later portrayed the franchise’s big bad Darth Vader. In a recent interview with Esquire, Christensen opened up about his time playing Anakin Skywalker and admitted his love for Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series. He also talked about what it was like working with Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman.

“I love Clone Wars. I think what Dave Filoni did with Clone Wars and Rebels is brilliant. I’m indebted to Dave Filoni because I think he helped the character of Anakin a lot. I think he fleshed out the character and also furthered our understanding of Anakin’s relationship with the Jedi and the Council and the mistrust that he harbored. I think the franchise is in good hands right now, and what Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni are doing is brilliant, and so as a fan, I’m very happy to see it expand.” he explained.

“When I was auditioning for Anakin, there never seemed a possibility I would get this role. It seemed too big. It’s all very secretive so I can’t tell you too much, but a million guys were reading for Anakin, and the brief was, how does a guy go from good to evil? As an actor, that was a compelling thing to try to portray, even outside of the Star Wars of it all…I’ve always been very sympathetic to Anakin, and I think as I’ve gotten older, I’m even more sympathetic to the Darth Vader character. For me, Anakin is Darth Vader and Darth Vader is Anakin.” Christensen narrated.

The actor also shed light on his relationship with co-actors Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor, and Sam Jackson. He said that aside from work, he learned from them how to handle the fanbase, which is the reason he’s still active in attending Star Wars conventions. At the end of the interview, Christensen revealed that he would like to reprise his role as Darth Vader.“I’d love to get the opportunity to! I love it, and I’d love to do more with it.” he declared.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Wonder Woman Fans Approve Andor Star to Replace Gal Gadot As the Warrior-Hero