We continue our latest series of examining some of the works outside the saga of some of our most beloved actors in a galaxy far, far away.
Today we continue with The Chosen One himself, Hayden Christensen.
Hayden Christensen was born on April 19th 1981 in Vancouver, Canada. Christensen began his career at the tender age of thirteen by acting in small roles on Canadian television. After a steady period, he then studied at the Actors Studio in New York. Christensen, in his youth, was a skilled hockey and tennis player. He is notoriously private and keeps his life outside of the screen to himself and his family. In 2007, he decided to step away from the spotlight and brought a farm in Uxbridge, Ontario where he dedicated himself to renovating the property and rearing all his livestock. In 2013, he released his own fashion line based on the farm. Christensen has one daughter.
Life as a House (2001)
This independent drama boats impressive leads. Kevin Kline and Kristen Scott Thomas lead the cast in a film that focuses on a terminally ill man who is desperate to repair his fractured relationship with his son and daughter before his dying day. Hayden plays the son of the family. This film is important to note as it received mixed reviews from critics but each one of those reviews lists Christensen as a breakout star. His performance gained widespread critical acclaim and Entertainment Weekly described him as “a joy to watch.” Christensen was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild. At the National Board of Review that year, he won the award for Breakthrough Performance.
Jumper (2008)
Outside of Star Wars, this film is perhaps the one that Christensen is best known for. The film has a cult-following of its own and stars the Jedi Master himself – Samuel L. Jackson. I sat down to watch this film during the pandemic. I, like everyone, had a lot of time on my hands and needed things to watch. I went back and found this film out on Netflix and it is tremendous fun. The film grossed 225 million dollars on an 85 million budget, making it a massive box office success by anyone’s standards. Amazingly, the film was shot in 14 countries and 20 different cities. Some fans of the novel, that it was based on, took issues with the number of changes that were made to the film. If you’re like me and haven’t read the book, then this won’t be a problem. Christensen is certainly capable of carrying a film on his shoulders and is most definitely an action star in every sense of the words here.
New York, I Love You (2009)
This comedy-drama depicts 11 short films, all directed by a different filmmaker, and tells the stories of life, love and loss in New York City. The cast includes Bradley Cooper, John Hurt, Orlando Bloom, Robin Wright, Ethan Hawke, Maggie Q, Christina Ricci and Natalie Portman – though Christensen and Portman are not reunited on screen. Portman also directs a story of her own. If you’re interested in this, then Christensen’s story is the first ‘segment’.
Shattered Glass (2003)
This film is regarded as Christensen’s most lauded performance and shows his true talent as a dramatic actor. The film follows the true story of Stephen Glass, played by Christensen, and his horrendous fall from grace as a newspaper editor who was found to have fabricated stories and presented them as true. The film received widespread praise from critics and Christensen was nominated for several awards over the year following its release. This film really shows a depth and range to his acting talents and it’s easy to see why George Lucas cast him as Anakin Skywalker a few years before. This film is most definitely worth a night of your viewing time.
Awake (2007)
This thriller, also starring Jessica Alba, isn’t half bad at all. In fact – it’s terrific popcorn fun. It features a great plot device that sets the story in motion. Christensen plays Clay, a young and wealthy genius, who is need of a heart transplant. While going ‘under’ to prepare for the op, Clay suffers from a condition known as Anaesthetic Awareness – a real condition where not enough anaesthesia has been administered for the patient’s body weight. In this fictitious instance, Clay is physically paralyzed but conscious of his surroundings. It is in this state of being ‘awake’ that he hears of a plot to murder him whilst on the operating table. The film was written and directed by Joby Harold who would later go on to write and executive produced the Obi-Wan Kenobi series and thus reuniting him with Christensen.
Following his turn as Anakin Skywalker in the prequels, Christensen’s career, like most, was up and down. He took a break from acting as we mentioned from 2010 – 2014 but it was his goliath-style one-two punch of returns to Star Wars in Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka respectively that have seen him return to the mainstream public consciousness and rise once again to A-list status.
In 2023, he signed on to return to his original talent agency – Independent Artist Group – and by doing so, signalling his return to Hollywood. It was this agency that landed him the role of Anakin Skywalker over two decades ago.
The Force always has a way of workings things out.
See you around, Skyguy.
- Hardcover Book
- Ireland, Justina (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 304 Pages - 05/06/2025 (Publication Date) - Random House Worlds (Publisher)
