DiCaprio rival

Christensen: “Skywalker role seemed too big”

Hayden Christensen

(Bild: Priscilla Grant / Everett Collection / picturedesk.com)

'Star Wars' actor Hayden Christensen said that he didn't think he had any chance of getting the role of Anakin Skywalker during the casting process. It "just seemed too big", the 42-year-old told the industry magazine "Empire".

"I remember asking my agent: 'Is there maybe another role that's being cast right now that you can put me forward for? Because Anakin seems kind of unattainable'," Christensen said. But there was no alternative. "So I threw my name in the hat like everyone else."

DiCaprio as a competitor
The fact that Leonardo DiCaprio was also being considered for the role confirmed the then 18-year-old Christensen's pessimistic attitude, as he says today. "During the entire casting process, I told myself from day one that I wouldn't get the part."

During the entire casting process, I had told myself from day one that I wouldn't get the part.

Hayden Christensen

The Canadian-born actor believes that this attitude "probably helped me a lot" - "because it liberated me in a lot of ways," he said. "And so it was really a big surprise for me when I got the part."

Christensen returned to the world of "Star Wars"
Christensen played the Jedi Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), who turns to the dark side after a chain of events and becomes Darth Vader. Almost 20 years later, he returned to the "Star Wars" world for the mini-series "Obi-Wan Kenobi".