For ‘Clones At 20’ Hayden Christensen talks about his start as Anakin Skywalker and how his performance was inspired.
In a recent interview with Starwars.com, Hayden Christensen sat down to talk for ‘Clones at 20,’ a celebration of 20 years since Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Christensen, who played Anakin Skywalker, talked about when he got the part and what his reaction was. He was so excited when he got the role, that his friend/roommate turned on the Episode 1 soundtrack(presumably Duel of the Fates) and the two jumped around their apartment while pretending to have a lightsaber fight.
“I remember when I got the phone call saying that I got the part,” Hayden Christensen says. “I was still in bed, actually, in my apartment in Vancouver at the time. I recall walking out after I got off the phone, just sort of stunned and in disbelief by the news, walking into the living room where my roommate was. He was aware that I was waiting for this call, and he saw my smile and immediately understood that there was good news. My response was, I lit up an imaginary lightsaber. He was a big Star Wars fan too, and he had the soundtrack to Episode I. He put the Star Wars soundtrack on, and we had this whole imaginary lightsaber duel around our apartment, jumping on all the furniture and just screaming like giddy little children.”
Christensen also went on to talk about where he drew inspiration from and how his interpretation fits into the actor’s portrayals that came before and after him.
“For me, trying to develop the character of Anakin, there was a lot that I could draw from. There was a lot of source material. I was playing a part that was already played before me, as well as after me. This was a character that had a family, children that had grown up. You had all of these elements, and where he was in his life and what that life was, and how all that would have affected him. There were a lot of elements that needed to cohere,” he says. “And for me, one of the aspects of Star Wars that I found really compelling was the generational aspect of it. I really wanted that to feel authentic and have as much continuity as possible. I was very cognizant of the performance that Jake Lloyd gave [in Episode I], and wanting it to feel like it really was just an older version of that kid, to some of the nuances and mannerisms of Darth Vader, wanting that transition to have some context as well, and to his children, Luke and Leia, and for that lineage to feel convincing. So I had a lot that I was drawing from, and then of course, everything he’s going through in the story.”
One of the more pivotal scenes of Episode 2, the slaying of the Tusken Raiders and Shmi’s death, was recounted by Hayden, who talked about how he and George approached the scene.
“We all understood that it was an important scene for this character and for his arc,” Christensen recalls. “When we were rehearsing it, we tried it a few different ways. I had conversations with George [Lucas] about the degree of his angst and emotional state, and trying to find it. We tried it one way, and I didn’t quite feel like I was connecting with it. George walked over to me and we had a really nice heart-to-heart conversation. I felt that scene was pivotal in my relationship with him as well, in terms of how we spoke about the work and the character. We really opened up our dialogue, which then continued into Episode III. But yeah, that scene was a big one.”
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Hayden Christensen also talked about his Star Wars rewatch in preparation for Obi-Wan Kenobi and how the fan reaction to the prequels has evolved over time.
“Watching them again as a whole, I was really struck with the quality and depth of the storytelling and George’s vision for all of it. It’s so nuanced, complex, and layered,” he says. “Really remarkable.”
“It’s like those films had a gestation period, where they needed a little time to ferment in the public psyche,” he says. “The reception that the films have now, it’s very heartwarming.”
