Child Actor Jake Lloyd Who Played Anakin Skywalker in The PHANTOM MENACE Has Schizophrenia

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/star-wars-child-actor-anakin-skywalker-jake-lloyd-b2511210.html

The mother of child actor Jake Lloyd, who played Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, has spoken out about her son’s struggle with mental illness.

Lloyd, now 35, was just 10 years old when he starred alongside Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor in the movie released in 1999, and has largely kept out of the public eye.

Since the movie, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary this May, the actor has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and has struggled with his mental health for years as a result."

Lloyd was seven years old when he first started acting, playing the role of Jimmy Sweet in four episodes of American medical drama ER.

But his mother says that he wasn’t aware of the unique nature of his lifestyle as he was “just riding his bike outside, playing with his friends”, noting that she protected him from spending too much time online.

Lloyd was due to attend private arts school, Columbia College Chicago, in 2007 after graduating from high school, however he was unable to finish his education there. He had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the time before his diagnosis of schizophrenia, which came later."

“He missed a lot of classes, and he was telling me that people were following him,” Lisa said.

Her son reported seeing people with “black eyes” staring at him on the street and said he would have late night conversations with Jon Stewart through his TV."

His sister Madison, who also appeared as an extra in The Phantom Menace, passed away due to natural causes at the age of 26 in 2018, which affected the Star Wars actor.

Last year, Lloyd suffered what his mother calls a “full-blown psychotic break” after he wanted to turn their car off in the middle lane of the motorway.

“There was a lot of yelling and screaming,” she recalled, saying that other drivers rang 911.

Lloyd was taken into hospital and a couple of months later he was admitted to a mental health rehabilitation facility. He is currently 10 months into an 18 -month stay.

“He’s doing much better than I expected,” Lisa said. “He is relating to people better and becoming a little bit more social, which is really nice. It’s kind of like having more of the old Jake back, because he has always been incredibly social until he became schizophrenic.”


Wow!!! Who knew?? This kid has lead a rough life?? 🤔