When Hayden Christensen received the call that he had first been cast as the pivotal Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, he walked into his living room with a look of disbelief. His roommate, who knew that he was waiting on the call, could tell by his smile that he had good news. Christensen proceeded to light up an imaginary lightsaber while his roommate put on the soundtrack to Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, and the pair clashed their invisible swords, traipsing around the room with childlike joy.
While he can’t say for certain to what extent, Christensen knew from the jump that something as big as Star Wars would follow him for a long time no matter what. He recalls the shared hope of everyone involved in creating something that would last in the culture for a long time. Now, as Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith marks its 20th anniversary and returns to theaters for a limited time — proving the film’s lasting appeal with one of the biggest re-release opening weekends in history with an estimated $42.2 million in ticket sales worldwide — Christensen looks back fondly on his many memories playing the character.
“None of it has really faded yet for me,” he says. “I was a 19-year-old kid living out my wildest dreams as an actor — making Star Wars with George Lucas. I got to know and work with all these incredible people like Ewan [McGregor], Natalie [Portman], Sam Jackson, and Ian McDiarmid.”
Christensen recalls learning how to truly swing a lightsaber with fight choreographer Nick Gillard. The two became close friends getting into antics together, with both of them having apartments on Bondi Beach during shooting. “Once we realized that our balconies were within throwing distance of each other, we had an ongoing water balloon war. Every time you walked down onto your balcony, you had to have your guard up. Otherwise you might get hit in the face with a water balloon — so many great memories.”
After the initial outings as the character, well over a decade later, Christensen received yet another phone call about playing the Jedi Knight turned Sith Lord on screen. This time for 2022’s Obi-Wan series.
“It has really been a remarkable journey that I’ve had with this character,” he says. “It is very unusual to get to return to a character this many times and after such a large passage of time. In some ways, each time it’s a little bit different. I feel even more connected to Anakin now than ever before. Just because I’m a little bit older and I’ve lived more, I can understand his struggles with more depth, perhaps.”
“Back when we were making the prequels, it was a great honor and a big challenge for me to step into this role. But I guess my focus was really on trying to bring to life Anakin’s passion and his struggles, and of course, his eventual fall to the dark side,” he says. “When I got to come back to do Obi-Wan with Ewan, it was a much different experience mainly because I wasn’t just playing Anakin, but now I was really playing Vader too, or rather Anakin within the timeline of Vader.
“That was really about trying to show how much change had taken place after years underneath the Darth Vader armor. There is a lot, but I think the emotional core is still the same, and Anakin is buried very deep down. He was never actually gone.”
Shortly after his return in Obi-Wan, Christensen found himself in a unique acting position again, getting to explore a relationship new to his version of the character in Ahsoka.
“Working with Dave Filoni was very meaningful to me. It helped broaden our understanding of the character, getting to see Anakin sort of at different points in the timeline,” he says. “[Dave Filoni] is someone I’ve admired for a while, and in a way, it’s another one of those full circle moments for me because he was sort of George’s protégé. To get to work with him and enjoy the benefit of his incredible understanding of this world and all of his insight into this character has been a remarkable experience from start to now.”
Christensen’s admiration for the visionaries behind Star Wars has a long history. And now, as he looks back on the past few decades there’s one night that stands out in his mind. He recalls going on a walk with George Lucas one evening during the filming of Revenge of the Sith. The pair spoke for a while before Lucas eventually offered the young Christensen some advice.
“George ended the conversation by saying to me, ‘Hayden, you can’t change the world. It’s not possible. All you can do is try to make your own world and then invite other people to be a part of it,’” he says. “It was one of the most profound things that anyone’s ever said to me, and it has really informed the way I live my life.”
At Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025, it was confirmed that Christensen will return as Anakin again in Ahsoka Season 2, a testament to how the character’s impact on both the actor and the audience has been undeniable.
“The affection that people have for Anakin means a lot to me,” Christensen says. “Of course, it’s a really nice thing, and I hope Jake Lloyd feels that too. [But], getting to play this character has been an incredible honor and a privilege. Getting to be a part of this amazing world that George created, hearing from all the fans over the years who have shared with me how much Star Wars means to them — I just want to say, on behalf of all of the fans that have come up to me, I want to thank George for making such an amazing world that is Star Wars, and then inviting us all to be a part of it.”
