Jake Lloyd Puns

I'm (26F) watching the prequel trilogy of Star Wars for the first time, since I was a child when it came out.

I think Jake did a pretty good job for a 10-year-old actor. He remembered his lines, dealt with the pressures of being on set at such a young age (probably having to wake up and start shooting at all hours of the day), and while he could have emoted a bit more, there are others in the cast who could have emoted more as well and were full-grown adults. All the hate he got afterwards was unjustified in my opinion, since he was a pretty cute kid and he was probably just given bad direction and training when delivering his lines- some of which weren't that bad and were only used to further the story. His interactions with Liam Neeson were a high point of the first movie and very cute to see.

It's just sad reading about his later bullying and eventual schizophrenia. If I went to school with a kid who was one of the main stars of a movie, I'd think he was pretty cool, not a laughing stock.

Did anybody else, at the time, think his acting was horrible when they first saw it in 1999 or 2000? I was a kid at the time but back then I thought he was absolutely deplorable as an actor. I didn’t find it believable and I felt they just chose any old little blonde kid to play him. Maybe because it was a kid watching another kid.

Now watching it as an adult I really don’t think he did too badly, for some reason. Did anybody else have a similar reaction/sentiment?

I’ve had kids of my own now, and he acts and speaks exactly how kids that age act when they have to talk to adults. What would’ve been weird would be if he came off as a polished actor.

I've wondered this for a long time but never really dug into it. For 21 years, people have been criticizing Jake Lloyd's performance in TPM, and I just don't see it. Young Anakin was a perfectly good character with good on screen chemistry between him and Padme, Qui-Gon, and Shmi. His scenes with Obi-Wan are satisfactorily awkward and slightly tense. He acts like a child decently enough.

The only place Anakin seems over the top is when he blows up the Federation ship at the end, but as an actor, Jake seems like he did it all perfectly competently for a child actor. Not as good as his costar Natalie Portman did in Leon when she was his age, but good nonetheless.

Is there something I've missed for decades that I should hate? What's the problem everyone has with his portrayal?

So, whenever I hear people hate on the prequels, I also hear that anakin’s actor sucked. I personally don’t get there point, it’s fine to have your opinion, but I just have give mine. Jake Lloyd portrayed little anakin pretty good and sure some of his are cringy, but all kids are cringy. As for Hayden Christensen, I think he did great expression work for the movies. You could always tell what emotions anakin was feeling when it was delivered by Christensen.

P.S. Happy birthday Hayden Christensen

Nothing more than that. Giving him a shout out. It’s hard being a child actor and worse being scrutinized by adults as a child. He did a good job...

I’m talking about the Star Wars actor..