• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Star Wars child actor who stepped away from Hollywood has spoken out about his health diagnosis

Home> Entertainment> Film

Published 17:22 28 Feb 2025 GMT

Star Wars child actor who stepped away from Hollywood has spoken out about his health diagnosis

Jake Lloyd portrayed the young Anakin Skywalker in the 1999 film

Olivia Burke

Olivia Burke

Featured Image Credit: Lucas Films

Topics: TV and Film, US News, Celebrity, Health, Mental Health, Star Wars

Olivia Burke
Olivia Burke

Olivia is a journalist at LADbible Group with more than five years of experience and has worked for a number of top publishers, including News UK. She also enjoys writing food reviews (as well as the eating part). She is a stereotypical reality TV addict, but still finds time for a serious documentary.

X

@livburke_

Advert

Advert

Advert

Child actor Jake Lloyd recently opened up about his schizophrenia diagnosis, and how it impacted his career in showbiz.

Seen as though George Lucas cast him in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace when he was just 8-years-old, it seemed the lad was destined for big things in Hollywood.

However, Jake stepped away from the spotlight just four years after his acting career began.

Shortly after the Star Wars prequel was released in 1999, the youngster retired himself from the entertainment industry after starring in ER, Unhook the Stars, Jingle All the Way and Apollo 11.

Eight years later, Jake was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and he left college to live with his mother Lisa.

Advert

"When they finally told him, it totally threw him off into an even worse depression," his mum told Scripp News last year. "It was really hard."

A turbulent few years followed, with Jake landing himself in trouble with the law as he struggled to come to terms with his diagnosis.

As well as this, he was also suffering from a neurological condition called anosognosia, which causes people to be unaware of, or unconsciously in denial about, their medical condition.

"He didn't think he needed to take medication because he wasn’t sick," Lisa added. "He didn't think he needed to go to the therapist because there's nothing wrong with him."

The child actor portrayed the young Anakin Skywalker in 1999's Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (Lucas Films)
The child actor portrayed the young Anakin Skywalker in 1999's Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (Lucas Films)

Advert

Jake then suffered a 'full-blown psychotic break' in March 2023, which was compounded by the death of his sister Madison, 26, - who also appeared in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

She died of natural causes in her sleep in 2018.

Lisa explained that two years ago, Jake suddenly 'turned the car off in the middle of the three lanes' as they drove home, resulting in other road users alerting authorities.

That day, he was admitted to a hospital and a few months later he was transferred to a mental health rehabilitation facility to take part in an inpatient program.

Jake has since wrapped up his 18-month stay at the facility in Southern California, and told Variety in January this year that he is now feeling 'pretty good'.

Advert

He still receives care from a different treatment centre, however, he can come and go as he pleases.

"[I’m feeling] pretty good, considering these 20 years of time that have come to an end," Jake said. "I can now accept taking on continued treatment, and therapy, and my meds.

Jake Lloyd pictured in 2011 (Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic)
Jake Lloyd pictured in 2011 (Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic)

"Everyone’s been very supportive," the child actor said.

He explained that although he hit 'rock bottom' at one point, it was a crucial step that allowed him to 'honestly take part in treatment, honestly take his meds, and honestly live with his diagnosis'.

Advert

Discussing how his medication helps him manage his schizophrenia, he added: "I don’t have the time for feeling volatile. It is very much a cushion."

Lisa also previously explained that his mental health struggles were the reason he quit acting, rubbishing rumours that it was due to the the unfavourable response that the 1999 Star Wars film received upon it's release.

"It would have happened anyway," she told Scripp News of her son's schizophrenia. "I believe that it was genetic. And his psychiatrist also agrees that Jake was going to become schizophrenic."

The mum said that she had 'protected' Jake from the Star Wars 'backlash' when he was a child, adding: "He was just riding his bike outside, playing with his friends. He didn't know. He didn't care.

"Everybody makes such a big deal about that. And it's rather annoying to me because Jake was a little kid when that came out, and he didn't really feel all that stuff because I didn't let him online."

Advert

According to Lisa, her son still 'loves' the famous franchise, as she said last year: "People think Jake hates Star Wars. He loves it."

Hats off, Jake!

Choose your content:

2 hours ago
3 hours ago
  • 2 hours ago

    What happened to Michael Mosley when he died in Greece as his final TV show airs

    The show aired its first episode last night, the final he filmed before his death

    Entertainment
  • 2 hours ago

    Shocking Paddy Power advert was banned after Oscar Pistorius murder trial joke

    More than 130,000 people signed a petition demanding for the ad to be taken down

    Entertainment
  • 3 hours ago

    Alarming amount of money Jordan Belfort really made from penny stocks as Wolf of Wall Street added to Netflix

    He made a huge amount from penny stocks over the years

    Entertainment
  • 3 hours ago

    Expert explains what the 'Gen-Z' stare really is and why it means generation is doomed

    The Gen-Z stare could be a 'symptom of something deeper’, according to experts

    Entertainment
  • Child actor who starred in School of Rock has made a heartbreaking admission about watching the movie back
  • Sobering reason child star Amanda Bynes quit Hollywood aged 24 after hit Emma Stone movie
  • Star Wars creator George Lucas finally reveals why Yoda speaks the way he does
  • Frankie Muniz explained why he left Hollywood as a child actor despite having 'hundreds of offers'