Photo: Jeff Spicer/Getty
Hayden Christensenis getting some love fromStar Warsfans.
On Sunday, Christensen — who famously portrayed pivotalStar Warscharacter Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader in 2002’sAttack of the Clonesand 2005’sRevenge of the Sith— appeared atStar Wars Celebration 2023in London.
“You’re making me emotional,” Christensen told a live audience at the beginning of his appearance, a clip from his live streamed appearance shared onTwittershows.
“Thank you so much,” Christensen added, after the host interviewing him said: “There isn’t a single bit of it that isn’t deserved.”
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Christensen took his role as Anakin in his early 20s and infamously received the blunt end of negative reviews surrounding Lucas’Star Warsprequel trilogy, alongside actors likeAhmed Best(Jar Jar Binks) and Jake Lloyd, who portrayed Anakin as a child in 1999’sThe Phantom Menace.
Now more than two decades since the prequel movies released, Christensen and Best are among actors who have made triumphant returns to the franchise via its Disney+ television content. Christensen reprised his role as Darth Vader while acting alongsideEwan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi in theObi-Wan Kenobiseries, while Best recentlymade a cameo as a new characterinThe Mandalorian.
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“For me, the experience of working on the prequels was amazing,” Christensen told PEOPLE about his relationship with the franchise in June 2022.
“My relationship withStar Warsis I guess, ever-evolving,” he said at the time. “I’m just in a really good place with it right now and just really grateful for all of this.”
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Christensen said at the time that his daughter, Briar Rose, who he shares with ex Rachel Bilson, is “certainly curious” about the movies.
“I haven’t showed her the films yet, but she understands what a lightsaber is,” he told PEOPLE at the time. “There are these things that permeate our culture in a way that you don’t even need to know the stories and still,Star Warswill resonate with you. It’s remarkable.”
The actor is not fully done with the franchise, either; back in 2021, Christensensigned on to play Darth Vader once morein the upcoming Disney+ seriesAshoka. The series will center around Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), whose origin centers around a master-apprentice relationship with Anakin largely depicted in the animated seriesStar Wars: The Clone Wars.
Ashokatakes place five years after the events of 1983’sStar Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, in which Anakin dies and becomes a Force ghost.
source: people.com
