Anakin Skywalker child star’s sad demise – tough diagnosis, ‘shattering’ loss and jail

For Jake Lloyd, being cast as the young Anakin Skywalker was the opportunity of a lifetime – but the huge role was largely responsible for ending the child star’s acting career.

Jake had already been busy establishing himself in Hollywood, starring alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1996 Christmas comedy Jingle All The Way at just seven years old.

But his big break came at nine years old when he beat 3,000 other child actors for the role of young Anakin in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

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The 1999 film was highly anticipated among Star Wars fans and Jake was quickly on his way to becoming one of the biggest young actors in Hollywood.

But in 2001 he decided to quit acting after the movie made his life a “living hell”, and the now 34-year-old has since led a tragic life after a tough diagnosis, devastating loss and trouble with the law.

Having received a mixed response after its release, Jake’s role in The Phantom Menace was one of the most harshly criticised elements of the film.

To make matters worse, the young star was also bullied at school.

He told BlackBook in 2012: “Other children were really mean to me.

“They would make the sound of the light saber every time they saw me. It was totally mad.”

After quitting Hollywood, Jake reportedly enrolled at Columbia College in Chicago to study film and video.

He led a relatively peaceful life until 2015 when police were called to his mother’s house to a report of an assault.

Jake’s mother, Lisa Lloyd revealed the former actor had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and told cops he’d been off his meds.

According to the police report, Jake had shown up at the house and started yelling at his mother before he physically attacked her.

She declined to press charges and told TMZ that Jake had been showing signs of schizophrenia since he was 19 years old and wasn’t a violent person.

But just weeks later Jake got into more trouble with the law when he was arrested after a police chase in South Carolina.

According to an arrest report, he ran a red light, speeding away from cops attempting to pull him over then started “passing cars on a double yellow line and increased speed, driving in a reckless manner”.

Eventually, Jake lost control of the vehicle and ran off the road, crashing through a fence and continuing into a wooded area before he finally came to a stop after he “collided with several small trees.”

He was charged with reckless driving, failure to stop and driving without a license after the incident.

After spending 10 months behind bars, Jake was moved to a psychiatric facility to receive help with his schizophrenia.

Just two years later the family was dealt a devastating blow when Jake’s younger sister, Madison, died suddenly in her sleep on July 16, 2018, at the age of 26.

Jake’s mother said the tragic loss had been “shattering” to her and Jake but since then the former actor has been living a quiet life as he attempts to focus on handling his schizophrenia symptoms.

In 2020 Jake’s family provided an update on his health, revealing he had moved to be nearer to his family and was making “progress”.

In a statement provided to Geek News Now by his mother, they said: “We would like to thank everyone for their kind words, their support, and goodwill.

“Jake has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, but unfortunately he also has a symptom called anosognosia which causes a lack of insight into his illness. This only adds to the struggle he faces, which has been very difficult after the tragic loss of his younger sister, Madison.

“He has moved closer to his family and we are all working hard to help him with this. He is still a kind and caring person and we hope to have him back to his fun and entertaining self as soon as possible.

“Jake will continue to make progress with the love and support you continue to show.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk