Jake Matthew Lloyd, also known as Jake Broadbent, is an American former child actor who portrayed Anakin Skywalker in the 1999 film , the first in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
Lloyd began his acting career in 1996, playing Jimmy Sweet in 4 episodes of ER. He was then cast as Jake Warren in Unhook the Stars. He got his big break playing Jamie Langston in Jingle All the Way. He also played Mark Armstrong in Apollo 11. Lloyd gained worldwide fame when he was chosen by George Lucas to play the young Anakin Skywalker in the 1999 film , the first film in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Lloyd received the Young Artist Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 2000, Lloyd starred in the dramas Die with Me and Madison, then retired from acting, although Madison wasn’t released in cinemas until 2005.
Post–''Star Wars'' work
After retiring from acting in 2001, Lloyd continued to make appearances at sci-fi and comic-book festivals. In 2012, he announced that he was directing a documentary highlighting the Tibetan refugees in India, who are attempting to escape persecution by the Chinese government. Lloyd was commissioned in 2012 to create a promo for singer Mallory Low's song. actor Daniel Logan, who played Boba Fett in the film, starred in the song's music video. Lloyd left Hollywood for Chicago, and dropped out after a semester at Columbia College Chicago, where he studied film and psychology.
Personal life
In 2012, Lloyd explained that his decision to retire from acting in 2001 was due to bullying at school and harassment by the press, both in response to his role in The Phantom Menace. The experience also led to claims that he had destroyed all his Star Wars memorabilia, but this claim has been strongly disputed by those close to Lloyd. In March 2015, police responded to an alleged assault by Lloyd on his mother Lisa Riley. In a statement to Indianapolis Metro Police Department, Riley alleged Lloyd arrived at her house and began verbally berating her. He then progressed to physically assaulting her, but she declined to press charges, revealing that Lloyd was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was not taking his medication at the time. On June 17, 2015, Lloyd was arrested in South Carolina under the name Jake Broadbent for reckless driving, driving without a license, and resisting arrest; he failed to stop for a red light, which initiated a high-speed police chase. At a hearing on June 22, his bail was set at $10,700. On June 23, Lloyd's mother stated to TMZ.com that he has schizophrenia and that "the family plans to try and get him help again once he's released from jail". Lloyd was not released on bail. In April 2016, after being kept for 10 months without trial in Colleton County Detention Center, Lloyd was transferred from jail to a psychiatric facility. Schizophrenia was given as the reason. In January 2020, his family issued a statement saying that he has moved closer to his family, and has officially been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
