Jake Lloyd beat out 3,000 kids to play the role of Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. However, Lloyd is one of the child actors who left Hollywood behind, with rumors saying that fan backlash playing the future Darth Vader impacted his mental health and decision to quit acting. The Star Wars actor’s mother has decided to clear the air on the real reason why her son decided to leave the entertainment industry, with its truth being nothing like the rumors.
With the first of the Star Wars prequels being his last major movie, Jake Lloyd’s mother, Lisa, dismissed on Scripps News the rumors that any negative backlash he received led to her son’s mental health issues and decision to quit acting, saying:
It would have happened anyway. I believe that it was genetic. And his psychiatrist also agrees that Jake was going to become schizophrenic. I protected him from the backlash. He was just riding his bike outside, playing with his friends. He didn't know. He didn't care. Everybody makes such a big deal about that. And it's rather annoying to me because Jake was a little kid when that came out, and he didn't really feel all that stuff because I didn't let him online.
When George Lucas first helmed The Phantom Menace, he knew it would be a risk bringing in a young Vader of nine years old compared to a teenager. But the founder of Lucasfilm felt it would be the best story decision in terms of the drama of having to leave his mother at a young age. While Jake Lloyd gave a memorable performance as Anakin Skywalker, the prequel film received mixed reviews and Lloyd even got a Razzie nomination for Worst Supporting Actor.
That’s one benefit of staying away from cyberspace: you don't have to read negative comments people say about you. Imagine if The Phantom Menace came out today and any negativity would come through various social media sites. That’s what happened to Kelly Marie Tran, who departed from social media due to backlash she got playing Rose Tico in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy.
But as Jake Lloyd was a little kid playing the Tattooine native, he had more to deal with at a young age compared to caring what strangers thought of his performance. Lisa Lloyd said her son had trouble in high school being unable to distinguish which “reality” he was in. When Lloyd graduated high school in 2007, his brief time at a private arts school wasn’t working out, as he missed classes and believed he was followed by people with “black eyes.”
A series of mental health appointments led to Lisa’s son’s diagnosis of schizophrenia and anosognosia, where he refused to believe he had a mental health condition. Certain medications would lose effectiveness or he would stop taking them altogether, leading to legal trouble like facing arrest after a crazy car chase with the police.
Based on Lisa Lloyd’s interview about her son, you now know that Jake Lloyd’s mental health issues went way beyond Star Wars. While she said kids would sometimes bully the Jingle All the Way star because of his role in The Phantom Menace, he was grappling with a tough home life that made auditioning stressful for him. As she explained:
People say he quit because of 'Star Wars.' Well, that's not true. It didn't have anything to do with 'Star Wars.' It had more to do with our family. And we were going through a divorce. Things were unsettled and kind of rough. And Jake didn't seem to be having a lot of fun auditioning anymore.
Even though Jake Lloyd’s time with Star Wars was over when Lucasfilm hired Hayden Christensen to play an older Anakin for Attack of the Clones, the space opera franchise was still a big part of Lloyd’s life. He apparently still wears Star Wars T-shirts and is still recognized in public for his well-known role. Lloyd is also a fan of the Disney+ Ahsoka series and gave his mom an action figure of the series lead as a birthday present to her.
In March 2023, Jake Lloyd suffered a psychotic break with his mom that led to a traffic jam. He was then taken to a hospital and transferred to a mental health rehab facility a couple of months later where he participated in an inpatient treatment program. As of now, Lloyd is about 10 months into his 18-month stay, understanding more about his condition and the importance of staying on his medication. Lisa Lloyd shares hope for her son’s improvements and that things are much better for him now:
We're in a lot better place. And we do have a lot of things to look forward to. We all love Jake, and we want to be around him. I just want him to be happy.
Jake Lloyd’s reasons for quitting acting, according to his mother, were much bigger than caring about any backlash he faced from The Phantom Menace. His mental health issues of schizophrenia stemmed from a condition passed on by his family, and because he was dealing with tough subjects at home, he didn't care about auditioning.
While Lloyd’s mother doesn’t believe her son’s place in any upcoming Star Wars projects is in the cards for him just yet, she imagines a possibility once he starts showing more improvements down the road. You can watch Lloyd portray Young Anakin in The Phantom Menace, available on your Disney+ subscription.
