Hayden Christensen quit Hollywood as he didn't feel worthy of fame
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Back in 2001, Hayden Christensen shot to fame in the second instalment of the Star Wars reboot Attack of the Clones, playing fledgling Jedi Anakin Skywalker.
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He then reprised his role a couple of years later in Revenge of The Sith, where fans of the saga saw Christensen take his character into a much darker place, becoming Darth Vader.
At the time, the 41-year-old was one of the biggest names in Hollywood, with millions of fans around the world.
However, shortly after his meteoric success, Christensen seemed to disappear somewhat.
While he didn't completely give up on his acting career, over the next decade or so, he went on to star in a string of flops, such as Factory Girl, Outcast, and American Heist.
Speaking in 2015 about his reasons for taking a step back from the limelight, Christensen said he didn't really feel like he deserved it.
He told the LA Times: "I guess I felt like I had this great thing in Star Wars that provided all these opportunities and gave me a career, but it all kind of felt a little too handed to me.
"I didn’t want to go through life feeling like I was just riding a wave."
He went on: "You can’t take years off and not have it affect your career. But I don’t know - in a weird, sort of destructive way there was something appealing about that to me.
"There was something in the back of my head that was like, 'If this time away is gonna be damaging to my career, then so be it. If I can come back afterwards and claw my way back in then maybe I’ll feel like I earned it'."
However, back in 2020, it was revealed that he would be returning to the Star Wars franchise once again, this time in the Disney+ spin-off Obi-Wan Kenobi.
And while the original trilogy series he starred in was criticised by a lot of fans, the TV series has gone down a storm.
“My official review of The Obi-Wan Kenobi series Part 1 and 2 is 10/10," wrote one approving fan.
“This is what the sequel trilogy should have been. It was what stars always has been and always should be!”
Speaking about shooting his showdown with Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor), Christensen said it was overwhelming.
"It was a very emotional scene to shoot, and obviously a very important one" he said.
"It was something that I think everyone was very aware of just, like, stepping out on set that day. There was a very different feeling.
"For both Ewan and I, it was a rather emotional experience, and I think that comes across onscreen."
And with talk of him getting his own spin-off series, it might not be the last we've seen of Christensen in the Star Wars universe.
Featured Image Credit: dpa picture alliance / PictureLux / The Hollywood Archive / Alamy Stock Photo
Topics: Star Wars, US News, Ewan McGregor, Disney
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