Where has Star Wars’ Hayden Christensen been? He’s back as Anakin Skywalker in Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, but after early fame – and dating Natalie Portman – he traded Hollywood for life on the farm
- George Lucas chose him for the role over even Leonardo DiCaprio, but fans attacked his portrayal – now he’s back in a series with Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan
- He has modelled for Louis Vuitton and dated co-stars Natalie Portman and Rachel Bilson – with whom he has a daughter – as well as being linked with Sienna Miller and Eva Longoria
The much-anticipated Disney+ limited series Obi-Wan Kenobi finally hit the streaming service recently, on May 27 – and with a bang.
According to Forbes, the Star Wars series drew viewership of 2.14 million on its premiere weekend, setting a record for Disney for “the biggest premiere for any programme set in the Star Wars universe”, beating The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.
The Canadian actor laid low for several years after his acting career hit some turbulence. But with the recent resurrection of this career-defining character, we take a look at what the actor has been up to.
He beat 1,500 actors (and Leonardo DiCaprio) to get the role
Christensen began his acting career in a commercial in 1988 before landing his first TV acting role in 1993 in a German/Canadian series Macht Der Leidenschaft/Family Passions, aged 12. He captured the attention of a worldwide audience after appearing in Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides (1999) and Fox’s critically-acclaimed Higher Ground (2000).
A year later he was chosen to play Anakin in the much-hyped Star Wars’ prequel trilogy. It’s reported that he beat over 1,500 other candidates (and even Leonardo DiCaprio) in landing the role. The director and creator of the entire Star Wars saga, George Lucas, needed “an actor who has that presence of the dark side”, according to ScreenRant.
