Even Master Qui Gon was unable to assess Young Anakin’s psychic dilemma.
Jake Lloyd, known for his role as Anakin Skywalker in the 1999 film ‘Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,’ hid himself the spotlight soon after the movie’s release. Recently, his mother, Lisa Lloyd, provided an update on her son’s well-being, addressing long-standing rumours within the Star Wars community.
In an interview with Scripps News, Lisa revealed that Jake was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2008. He experienced challenges with distinguishing between realities, often seeing people with “black eyes” and claiming to have conversations with Jon Stewart, the host of The Daily Show. Plus, Jake was found to have anosognosia, a neurological condition that leads to a denial of one’s symptoms.
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“He didn’t think he needed to take medication because he wasn’t sick,” Lisa explained.
“He didn’t think he needed to go to the therapist because there’s nothing wrong with him.”
Jake has a psychotic breakdown
Jake’s struggles with the law in 2015 culminated in a high-speed chase that ended in a crash. Following this incident, Lisa sought legal assistance to transfer Jake from jail to a medical facility due to his lapse in medication. However, she faced the obstacle of unavailable hospital beds, resulting in Jake spending 10 months in jail. Tragedy struck again in 2018 when Jake’s sister, who had a minor role in ‘The Phantom Menace,’ passed away from natural causes, exacerbating Jake’s mental health issues.
In March 2023, Jake experienced a severe psychotic episode, prompting his admission to a mental health rehabilitation center. Over the past 10 months, he has shown significant improvement, to the point where he can now enjoy movies, such as the recent “Wonka.”
“That was one of the things that we couldn’t do when he was off his medication was watch movies. He just didn’t have the attention span for it,” said Lisa.
Jake loves Star Wars, and the negative comments are not the reason for his mental illness
Lisa also highlighted Jake’s enduring passion for Star Wars, noting his enjoyment of the Disney+ series “Ahsoka” and his delight in receiving an action figure of the show’s protagonist for his birthday.
“People think Jake hates Star Wars. He loves it,” she affirmed.
Lisa clarified that the backlash from ‘The Phantom Menace’ was not the cause of Jake’s mental illness. She drove the reason to genetics, given the history of schizophrenia in Jake’s paternal family.
“I believe that it was genetic. And his psychiatrist also agrees that Jake was going to become schizophrenic,” she stated.
Lisa protected Jake from the film’s negative reception, ensuring he remained unaware and unaffected as he continued his childhood activities. She also dismissed the notion that Jake’s departure from acting was linked to Star Wars, instead citing family circumstances, including a divorce.
Prior to his iconic role, Jake appeared in films like ‘Jingle All the Way’ with Arnold Schwarzenegger and ‘Apollo 11.’ His television credits include ‘ER’ and ‘The Pretender,’ with his last film appearance being in 2001’s ‘Madison.’