Jake Lloyd Biography

Jake Lloyd is most famous as the child actor who played Anakin in Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999).

He was not entirely a newcomer. Lloyd had appeared in television commercials and series (including semi-regular roles in E. R. and The Pretender) before making his feature film debut in 1996’s Unhook the Stars.

He co-starred with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the comedy Jingle All the Way (1996) and then landed the role of Padawan Anakin Skywalker in The Phantom Menace over about 3,000 other kids who auditioned.

In the series, young Skywalker grows up to be the evil villain Darth Vader in episodes IV, V and VI of the Star Wars series.

Despite the box office success of the film, Lloyd took a beating in the press for his performance, and it’s said that Internet “bullying” drove him out of acting for good.

After the success of the film, Lloyd did voice work for various Star Wars video games, then retreated to a “normal life” in the midwest. Since dropping out of the public eye, there have been occasional press stories about Lloyd’s mental health “struggles” without much in the way of specifics.