Editing Hayden Christensen (section)

====''Star Wars''====
[[File:Hayden Christensen 05-2005.jpg|thumb|right|Christensen at the premiere of ''[[Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith|Star Wars: Episode III]]'' in [[Berlin]] in 2005]]
On May 12, 2000, Christensen announced that he would be starring as an adult [[Darth Vader|Anakin Skywalker]] in ''[[Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones]]'' (2002) and ''[[Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith]]'' (2005); Skywalker was previously portrayed by [[Jake Lloyd]] as a child in ''[[Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace]]'' (1999). The casting director reviewed about 1,500 other candidates before director [[George Lucas]] selected Christensen.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Robin Gurland&nbsp;— Don't Call Her; She'll Call You |url=https://www.starwars.com/episode-ii/bts/profile/f20020128/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628202200/http://www.starwars.com/episode-ii/bts/profile/f20020128/index.html |archive-date=June 28, 2011 |access-date=May 17, 2010 |website=[[Star Wars|Star Wars.com]]}}</ref> Lucas is quoted as saying that he chose Christensen because he "needed an actor who has that presence of the [[the Force|Dark Side]]". This was essential to solidify the story that Lucas was trying to tell: Anakin Skywalker's fall from grace and transformation into [[Darth Vader]].

During the production of ''Revenge of the Sith'', Christensen asked Lucas if a special Vader suit could be constructed to fit his own body, rather than have a different actor don one of the original sets of Vader armour worn by [[David Prowse]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 16, 2005 |title=Star Wars&nbsp;— Lucas Made Vader Suit Extra Awkward |url=http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/story/lucas-made-vader-suit-extra-awkward |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115164659/https://www.contactmusic.com/star-wars/news/lucas-made-vader-suit-extra-awkward |archive-date=January 15, 2023 |access-date=July 30, 2010 |website=[[Contactmusic.com]]}}</ref> Lucas agreed, and a suit was engineered to fit Christensen's frame, even including extensions to allow for the actor to attain Vader's {{convert|6|ft|6|in|m|2|abbr=on}} height. His voice as the "robotic" Vader, however, was dubbed over by [[James Earl Jones]], who first made the voice famous in the original trilogy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Murray |first=Rebecca |date=February 17, 2016 |title=Hayden Christensen Talks About "Revenge of the Sith" |url=http://movies.about.com/od/starwars3/a/starwars100605.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303232706/http://movies.about.com/od/starwars3/a/starwars100605.htm |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |access-date=May 17, 2010 |website=Movies About}}</ref>

In one of the most controversial changes made to the ''Star Wars'' [[original Star Wars trilogy|original trilogy]],<ref name="Brooker">Johnson, Derek. "Star Wars fans, DVD, and cultural ownership: an interview with Will Brooker; Interview", ''[[Velvet Light Trap]]'', September 22, 2005, pg. 36–44.</ref> Christensen was inserted into the 2004 DVD release of ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'', where he replaced [[Sebastian Shaw (actor)|Sebastian Shaw]] as the force ghost of the redeemed Anakin Skywalker.<ref name="DVD">{{Cite AV media |title=Star Wars Trilogy: Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi |date=2004 |type=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=May 1, 2005 |title=Anakin's fans strike back |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |publisher=Roger Ebert.com |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050501/ANSWERMAN/505010302 |url-status=dead |access-date=February 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113162901/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20050501%2FANSWERMAN%2F505010302 |archive-date=January 13, 2010}}</ref> Lucas wanted Anakin's inner person to return to who he was before he turned to the dark side.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005 |title=Moviefone Unscripted with Hayden Christensen and George Lucas |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk7RN3t2v14 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/Sk7RN3t2v14 |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |publisher=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Christensen insisted this was done without his knowledge, an act that was confirmed by [[Lucasfilm]] itself in the featurette "Return of the Jedi: What has changed?" as seen on the official website to commemorate the 2006 DVDs.<ref>{{Cite AV media |title=Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith |date=2005 |type=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>

Christensen's performance in both ''[[Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones|Episode II]]'' and ''[[Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith|III]]'' received generally mixed reviews from critics,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Review: Star Wars: Episode II&nbsp;— Attack of the Clones |work=Chicago Sun-Times |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20020510/REVIEWS/205100305 |access-date=May 10, 2002 |archive-date=April 14, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050414021029/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20020510%2FREVIEWS%2F205100305 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Westbrook |first=Bruce |date=December 15, 2015 |title=Revenge of the Sith review |url=http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ae/movies/reviews/3186152.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070322223419/http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ae/movies/reviews/3186152.html |archive-date=March 22, 2007 |access-date=September 30, 2005 |website=Houston Chronicle}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Halter |first=Ed |date=May 10, 2005 |title=May the Force Be Over |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2005-05-10/film/may-the-force-be-over/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919162527/http://www.villagevoice.com/2005-05-10/film/may-the-force-be-over/ |archive-date=September 19, 2008 |access-date=May 10, 2005 |work=Village Voice}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Scott |first=A. O. |date=May 10, 2002 |title=Kicking Up Cosmic Dust |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B01EFDA1030F933A25756C0A9649C8B63 |access-date=May 10, 2002}}</ref> although contemporary reviews note that his performance was mostly affected by Lucas' directing and the dialogue, and has since seen positive reappraisal in retrospect.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dockterman |first=Eliana  |date=May 20, 2022 |title=It's Time to Forgive Hayden Christensen for the Star Wars Prequels |url=https://news.yahoo.com/time-forgive-hayden-christensen-star-110105079.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622233159/https://news.yahoo.com/time-forgive-hayden-christensen-star-110105079.html |archive-date=June 22, 2022 |access-date=2022-06-17 |website=Yahoo! News |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2022, when reflecting on the prequel trilogy and the reappraisal, Christensen said, “It’s like those films had a gestation period, where they needed a little time to ferment in the public psyche. The reception that the films have now, it’s very heartwarming.”<ref>{{cite web |author1=Dan Brooks |title=Hayden Christensen Looks Back at His First Steps as Anakin Skywalker |url=https://www.starwars.com/news/clones-at-20-hayden-christensen-interview |publisher=StarWars.com |access-date=25 April 2025 |date=16 May 2022}}</ref> 

Christensen was named in both [[People (magazine)|''People'' magazine]]'s 50 Most Beautiful People and ''[[People (magazine)#Teen People|Teen People]]''{{'}}s 25 Hottest Stars under 25.<ref name="people">{{Cite web |date=May 13, 2002 |title=Hayden Christensen: Actor |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20136997,00.html |access-date=July 1, 2008 |website=[[People (American magazine)|People]] |archive-date=November 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081101174631/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20136997,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> For his performance in ''Episode III'', he won the [[MTV Movie Award for Best Villain]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=2006 MTV Movie Awards |url=http://www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/2006/ |access-date=August 4, 2008 |publisher=[[MTV]] |archive-date=April 23, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080423094936/http://www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/2006/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>