Fans take May 4th to celebrate Star Wars Day
The dream for every “Star Wars” fan is to become a Jedi knight, just as happened to Luke Skywalker or as it almost happened to Anakin, his father. In the saga, the young padawan demonstrates truly surprising powers; However, he also goes through a harsh process that leads him to become the feared Darth Vader, after switching to the “dark side of the force.”
Something similar happened with the actor who gave life to this character, Jake Lloyd, who went from being one of the youngest promises in cinema to living a true drama, after being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
Jake was chosen to play Anakin, in “Episode 1: The Phantom Menace”, in 1999, when he was only 10 years old; and although he was expected to star in the entire trilogy, just two years after the film’s release, he decided to step away from the big screen forever. At that time he did not confess it, but he experienced bullying from his schoolmates and the disease was already beginning to show its first signs.
Lloyd became a topic of conversation again due to his constant problems with the police. In 2015, the physical and verbal aggression he committed against his mother was revealed, but she decided not to press charges because the episode had been caused by schizophrenia and the lack of medication.
Now, the former actor’s mother, Lisa, broke the silence about Jake’s state of health, which has led him to remain in a mental health clinic since March 2023, when he suffered a psychotic break that led him to stop his car on a busy avenue, putting his life and the lives of other people at risk.
“ He said he had to stop and he did it in the middle of three lanes. We were in the middle. Nothing she said made sense,” Lisa explained in a recent interview she gave to Scripp News.
Jake, now 35 years old, was sentenced by a judge to 18 months of psychiatric treatment, thanks to which his family sees hope:
“ He relates better and better with people, he is very good. He’s starting to look more like the real Jake. “ He was incredibly sociable until he started schizophrenia,” he added.
Likewise, Mrs. Lisa took the opportunity to debunk rumors that her son’s mental condition was developed because of the “Phantom Menace”; She even revealed that part of the actor’s paternal family has received the same diagnosis, so it is a genetic issue: “ The same thing would have happened to him under other circumstances. I think it is something genetic and her psychiatrist agrees that Jake was also going to be schizophrenic, because of his father’s family.
Regarding the memories that Lloyd keeps of his time in the franchise, his mother assured that he is a big fan and has kept up to date with the new projects that have emerged, such as the “ Ahsoka ” series.