Anakin Skywalker child actor's mom speaks out to give update on his rehab after 'psychotic break'
The mother of the actor who plays a young Anakin Skywalker in 1999’s Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace has provided a health update regarding her son.
The fourth film in the franchise and the first in the prequel trilogy turns 25 this year, with many fans celebrating the anniversary thanks to recent interviews with cast members and the film's impending re-release in theatres.
However, there was one notable name absent from the recent coverage: Jake Lloyd.
The former actor, who turned 35 last week, played the young Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars flick.
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He was also known for starring in festive favourite Jingle All the Way, in which he played Jamie, the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Howard Langston.
But after a handful of other roles, Lloyd went on to retire from acting, citing being bullied at school as one of the key factors behind his decision.
"Other children were really mean to me," he told Blackbook in 2012.
"They would make the sound of the lightsaber every time they saw me. It was totally mad. My entire school life was really a living hell - and I had to do up to 60 interviews a day."
In June 2015, Lloyd was arrested in South Carolina for reckless driving, driving without a license and resisting arrest.
He was imprisoned until April 2016, before being moved to a psychiatric facility.
"It totally threw him off into an even worse depression"
In a rare update, Lloyd's mother Lisa has provided a glimpse into her son's life.
In an interview with Scripps News, Lisa detailed the problems her son endured a school, including that of a schizophrenia diagnosis in 2008.
"He didn't tell us he was hearing voices at the time. But he was."
Lisa says that her son would complain of 'black eyes' staring at him and people following him.
“He didn't tell us he was hearing voices at the time. But he was," she said.
"When they finally told him, it totally threw him off into an even worse depression."
Schizophrenia is a serious mental health disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally, with symptoms including hallucinations, delusions, and extremely disordered thinking.
Lisa explains that the diagnosis 'would have happened anyway' as it runs in his dad's side of the family, and that the popular franchise had no effect on her son.
Speaking of the aftermath of Lloyd's diagnosis, Lisa said: "He didn't think he needed to take medication because he wasn’t sick.
"He didn't think he needed to go to the therapist because there's nothing wrong with him."
And in March 2023, Jake suffered what his mom calls a 'full-blown psychotic break'.
"There was a lot of yelling and screaming"
The incident happened as Lisa was driving her son home after picking up food at McDonald’s.
"He said he wanted to turn the car off. And he turned the car off in the middle of the three lanes, and we were in the middle lane,” Lisa recalled.
"There was a lot of yelling and screaming."
She continued: "The police got there, and they asked Jake some questions. He was talking to them, but none of it made sense. It was all word salad."
Lloyd was admitted to hospital the next day before being moved to an inpatient program at a mental health rehabilitation facility.
The former actor is currently ten months into his 18-month stay.
Lisa went on to say her son is doing 'much better than I expected'.
"He is relating to people better and becoming a little bit more social, which is really nice," she added.
Topics: Mental Health, Star Wars, Health, Film and TV
Callum Jones