Hayden Christensen

Hayden Christensen (born April 19, 1981) is a Canadian actor.

He is best known for his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader in the Star Wars media franchise.

After accompanying his older sister to her agent's office after she landed a role in a Pringles commercial, he began being cast in commercials as well, including for Triaminic cough syrup in 1988.

Christensen began his career on Canadian television at the age of 13, then diversified into American television in the late 1990s.

Christensen made his acting debut in September 1993, when, at the age of 12, he played a supporting role on the German-Canadian television series Macht Der Leidenschaft/Family Passions. The following year, he had a minor role in John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness.

From 1995 through 1999, he appeared in several films and television series, including Harrison Bergeron, Forever Knight, Goosebumps, The Virgin Suicides, and Are You Afraid of the Dark?

His early work includes Sofia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides (1999), Life as a House (2001), and Shattered Glass (2003).

He earned praise for his performances as Sam in Life as a House and as Stephen Glass in Shattered Glass.

Christensen's honours include the nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, as well as the Cannes Film Festival's Trophée Chopard.

He acquired wider notice while starring in Fox Family Channel's television series Higher Ground in 2000, portraying a teen who was sexually molested by his stepmother, and then turned to drugs in his despair.

On May 12, 2000, Christensen announced that he would be starring as an adult Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005); Skywalker was previously portrayed by Jake Lloyd as a child in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999).

The casting director reviewed about 1,500 other candidates before director George Lucas selected Christensen.

Lucas is quoted as saying that he chose Christensen because he "needed an actor who has that presence of the Dark Side".

This was essential to solidify the story that Lucas was trying to tell: Anakin Skywalker's fall from grace and transformation into Darth Vader.

During the production of Revenge of the Sith, Christensen asked Lucas if a special Vader suit could be constructed to fit his own body, rather than have a different actor don one of the original sets of Vader armour worn by David Prowse.

Lucas agreed, and a suit was engineered to fit Christensen's frame, even including extensions to allow for the actor to attain Vader's 6 ft height.

His voice as the "robotic" Vader, however, was dubbed over by James Earl Jones, who first made the voice famous in the original trilogy.

Christensen's critically acclaimed portrayal of a misunderstood teenager in Life as a House (2001) earned him Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations, as well as the National Board of Review's award for Breakthrough Performance of the Year.

However, the performance did not receive widespread public notice.

He first appeared in the prequel trilogy films, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), and later reprised his role in the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) and Ahsoka (2023).

In 2002, Christensen made his London theatre debut with Jake Gyllenhaal and Anna Paquin in This Is Our Youth.

He went on to receive positive reviews for 2003's Shattered Glass, which tells the true story of journalist Stephen Glass, who was discovered to be fabricating stories as a writer for The New Republic and other publications.

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote, "Hayden Christensen is sensational as Glass, finding the wonder boy and the weasel in a disturbed kid flying high on a fame he hasn't earned."

In one of the most controversial changes made to the Star Wars original trilogy, Christensen was inserted into the 2004 DVD release of Return of the Jedi, where he replaced Sebastian Shaw as the force ghost of the redeemed Anakin Skywalker.

Lucas wanted Anakin's inner person to return to who he was before he turned to the dark side.

Christensen insisted this was done without his knowledge, an act that was confirmed by Lucasfilm itself in the featurette "Return of the Jedi: What has changed?"

In 2005, Christensen made his Broadway debut when he appeared briefly in a 10-minute play.

In 2005, he took part in the fifth annual "24 Hour Plays" benefit, which raises cash for nonprofit groups in the Big Apple.

as seen on the official website to commemorate the 2006 DVDs.

Christensen's performance in both Episode II and III received generally mixed reviews from critics, although contemporary reviews note that his performance was mostly affected by Lucas' directing and the dialogue, and has since seen positive reappraisal in retrospect.

Christensen was named in both People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People and Teen People's 25 Hottest Stars under 25.

For his performance in Episode III, he won the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain.

His other notable works include Awake (2007), Jumper (2008), Takers (2010), and Little Italy (2018).

Christensen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia to Alie, an American speechwriter, and David Christensen, a Canadian computer programmer and communications executive.

His father is of Danish descent, and his mother has Swedish and Italian ancestry.

Christensen is one of four children, with three actor siblings: older brother Tove, older sister Hejsa, and younger sister Kaylen.

He spent summers on Long Island with his maternal grandmother, Rose Schwartz.

Christensen attended Unionville High School in Markham, Ontario.

He was an athlete in high school, playing hockey competitively and tennis on a provincial level.

He attended the Actors Studio in New York City; he studied as well at the Arts York drama program in high school.