In May of this year, "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" (Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace), released in 1999, will celebrate its 25th anniversary (it was introduced to Chinese theaters in November of that year) ). In the history of science fiction movies, although the status of this film is not as high as that of the original "Star Wars" trilogy, as the first part of the prequel, "The Phantom Menace" still has a very high level in the minds of "Star Wars fans" around the world. status. Jake Lloyd, who played the young Anakin Skywalker in the film, also left a deep impression on the audience.
Jack Lloyd as young Anakin Skywalker
Strangely, after filming the film, Lloyd almost completely disappeared from the public eye. He neither made many movies nor appeared in news reports. Occasionally, he would suddenly become the talk of the gossip media due to negative news such as dangerous driving and mental illness, but he would disappear again soon, and there would be little news about him.
Recently, Jack Lloyd’s mother Lisa Lloyd gave a rare interview to the media and talked about her son’s current situation (Jack Lloyd just celebrated his 35th birthday on March 5) and also refuted Some misinformation has been spread for many years.
Back then, after "Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace" was released, media reputation and audience response were polarized, with mixed reviews. This is also reflected in the outside world's evaluation of Jack Lloyd. His performance in the film not only won him the American MTV Movie Award for Best Actor, but he was also nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor. In 2022, the Golden Raspberry Awards nominated the 11-year-old actor Ryan Kira Armstrong in the horror film "Fire" as the worst actress candidate. This caused strong dissatisfaction among the public and had to issue an apology statement and Withdrawal of nomination. Back in 1999, when Jack Lloyd, who was only 10 years old at the time, faced the same situation, he never aroused the sympathy of the public at all. Instead, he attracted more ridicule and criticism, and was even called "the wooden actor Anna" "Gold" nickname. Therefore, many "Star Wars fans" have long believed that it was this experience that caused Lloyd to suffer from mental illness, and his career as an actor never ended.
"Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace" stills
However, Lisa Lloyd clarified this time that her son was only diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2008. For many years before, he had been struggling with life, often seeing phantoms and having hallucinations; but the cause had nothing to do with his identity as an actor, but the inheritance from Jack's father's family. "Jack started having symptoms in high school and started talking about parallel 'realities,' and he didn't know if he was in one reality or another," recalls Lisa Lloyd. "I I believe this is hereditary, and his psychiatrist also agrees with this statement: No matter what, Jack will inevitably end up like this and suffer from schizophrenia. And he also has a neurological condition called 'agnosia' Systemic diseases cause him to deliberately deny his symptoms and think that he does not need to take medicine because he is not sick."
In 2015, Jack Lloyd was arrested and jailed for dangerous driving. At that time, his mother hired a lawyer, hoping to persuade the court to let him be released from prison and transferred to a medical institution for supervision. However, due to the lack of beds in the hospital, he spent 10 months behind bars. In 2018, Jack's sister died of illness, which worsened his condition.
In March 2023, Jack Lloyd suffered another sudden mental breakdown. He suddenly stalled while driving and stopped in the middle of the road. Subsequently, he was sent to a rehabilitation institution by his mother for treatment. Fortunately, his condition has eased and he is expected to complete the rehabilitation course in September this year. Lisa Lloyd revealed: "The situation is much better. Jack can now watch movies. Recently, we both went to the cinema to watch "Wonka" to celebrate his birthday." In addition, she also mentioned that her son has always been He is a loyal fan of "Star Wars" and recently watched the spin-off "Ahsoka" on Disney's streaming platform. This is contrary to the rumors that he extremely hates "Star Wars" related works due to negative reviews.
"He was still a kid at the time, and I didn't let him go online, so he didn't really feel the malicious attacks online." Lisa Lloyd clarified that Jack did not quit the entertainment industry because of negative reviews. , but because she and Jack's father are divorcing, and the whole family is in chaos and crisis.
Before "The Phantom Menace", Jack Lloyd had appeared in films such as the comedy "Jingle Bells All the Way" and "Apollo 11" starring Schwarzenegger, as well as "ER" and "The Pretender". Episodes. That year, he was selected from thousands of candidates and was chosen by director George Lucas to play the role of childhood Anakin. In 2007, he graduated from high school and entered the film department at Columbia College in Chicago. "But he missed a lot of class, and he told me that he was being followed, that he saw people with 'black eyes' staring at him, and that he was watching The Daily Show when he spotted host Joe Stewart It's actually a conversation with him alone." Lisa Lloyd said, "But his situation now is much better than I expected. He can socialize with people better, which is really good. Well, it's like getting the old Jack back. Before he developed schizophrenia, he was actually very good at communicating with people."
