Hayden Christensen He may now be known for playing Anakin Skywalker, but he was convinced the iconic role was going to go to someone else. Leonardo Dicaprio.
“I had heard that they had met with Leonardo and a group of other actors,” Christensen, 42, revealed during a Wednesday, February 28, interview with Empire. “That confirmed my idea that the role would go to another actor.
Christensen added that while he wanted to play Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequel, he was so convinced that he wouldn't be chosen that he didn't even allow himself to daydream about that possibility.
“Throughout the entire audition process, I told myself from day one that I wasn't going to get the role,” he explained. “It just wasn't a possibility. And I think that probably helped me a lot, because it freed me in a lot of ways.”
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Before Christensen stepped into Anakin's shoes, a number of other actors auditioned. While DiCpario, 49, ultimately felt it wasn't the right project for him, “I didn't feel ready to make that leap at the time,” he said. short list In 2015, other young stars of the 90s such as Devon Sawa, ryan phillippe, James Van Der Beek and Paul Walker Everyone came out for the role.
Christensen was eventually cast to play young Jedi-turned-villain Darth Vader in the George Lucas-starring 2002 film franchise. Episode II: Attack of the Clones next to Ewan McGregor and Natalia Portman. She reprized the role of Episode III: Revenge of the Sithwhich premiered in 2005.
After the first film hit theaters, it received mixed reactions. Christensen confessed that she didn't see the backlash coming, which included initial harsh criticism of her acting and her lines.
“The character was criticized, my performance was criticized and that part was shit,” he recalled. “YO [had] I saw the movie and I loved it. It was everything I wanted and more. And I didn't understand the disconnect between the movie I saw and the negativity in some of the reviews.
He continued: “George Lucas creates a unique world where everything is so specific, from the way these characters look and the way they speak, and I feel like sometimes people lose sight of that and expect them to speak the same way they do. “We talked, and that's not what we were looking for.”
Despite the criticism, Christensen ultimately decided to return for Disney+. Obi Wan Kenobi series alongside McGregor, 52, in 2022. It later appeared on the streaming service Ahsokastarring Rosario Dawson.
“When we finished doing the prequels, I felt like that was it and my journey with the character was over,” Christensen said. “So to come back now and do more with Anakin and Darth Vader was an incredible opportunity. “I am very grateful for the work I was able to do.”
He added: “[It] It was a bucket list item I didn't even know I had. The journey I've been on with Star Wars over the last 20+ years… it's been a wild ride, and where we are now is really meaningful to me.
