PHANTOM MENACE Star Jake Lloyd Says STAR WARS Made His Life a “Living Hell”
Darth Vader.
When you think of that name, two thoughts come to mind: 1) “the most feared, evil bad guy in the universe”…and 2) “that damn kid in EPISODE I was the worst actor ever!!”
Yeah, we were all thinking it…but what we probably weren’t realizing was how such pressure impacted the actor behind Anakin Skywalker.
Jake Lloyd was only eight years old when STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE hit theaters. He should have had everything he ever dreamed of. Instead, according to The Daily What, he was constantly shuffled around for interviews, and made fun of by everyone in his school:
“Other children were really mean to me…They would make the sound of the light saber every time they saw me. It was totally mad…My entire school life was really a living hell — and I had to do up to 60 interviews a day.”
Lloyd felt so much anger towards the franchise, that he destroyed all of his STAR WARS memorabilia, and vowed never to act again:
“I’ve learned to hate it when the cameras are pointed at me.”
There was always an innocent kid involved. He should have gone on to make more movies. He was a talented kid. But there really are monsters in this world. Young and older.