Besides Hayden and Jake...who do you think could've played a good Anakin

Those guys are too old. They are in their mid thirties at least. They needed a guy that looked young twenties. Lucas was shooting for a young boyish look. Bana in Troy is scruffy looking. Even clean shaven you can tell he is in his thirties. Joaquin (however you spell it) looks well into his thirties. If they can look as evil as Hayden did as when he was Vader, then maybe they could've been good. But if not, no way. To me that is when Hayden gave his best potrayal of Anakin. Him as Vader.

 

Hayden did as he was told, played a whiny teen in AOTC (where admittedly I didn't have much sympathy for the character) and a troubled man who got suckered into the worst sort of decisions by his fears in ROTS (where I think he was wonderful). You don't like the way Anakin was portrayed? Take it up with the director, don't blame the actors.

However, I think that Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) could have been good as a young Anakin. Trouble is that since he was born in 1992 he'd've been too young when TPM was shot.

 

He is a talented little fella isn't he. He didn't have blonde hair though. Of course that could be dealt with. I liked Lloyd though, so.

 

He is. So's Haley Joel Osment, although he's like a little adult in a child's body, so I'm not sure how well he would've portrayed the essential innocence of the young Anakin. That said, HJO totally blew my mind in Sixth Sense with his acting. I must say I found Jake Lloyd a bit stiff when I first saw TPM, but on second and third viewings he did creditably enough. I don't think he deserved all the bad press he's received for his role either.

 

Yeah, people just don't realize Jake is a KID. He isn't going to give a Tom Hank's performance for Star Wars. Lucas isn't good at directing actors so he should be blamed for the "wooden" acting.

 

I couldn't agree with you more. That said, I wouldn't judge any actor by his or her performance in Star Wars alone.

 

Scripts are often reworked around actors. You'd just have to have an older Anakin in AotC and RotS.

I'm not convinced there weren't others out there who could have played that part better than Hayden. He was good as Anakin in RotS, but absolutely horrible in AotC. He never owned the part like Ewan McGregor did Obi Wan, or Ian McDiarmid did Sidious/Palpatine. If not for Hayden pulling out a good performance in RotS, I would have said he was a bad casting decision.

 

By a few years possibly, but as much as I love Eric Bana, he couldn't've played Anakin, as he was born in 1968. Not without recasting Obi-wan as well. You can't very well have a mentor who's several years younger than his padawan. And Ewan did a marvelous job as Obi-wan...

 

Jake Ghyllenhall (sp?) the guy from Donnie Darko. He would have been awesome.

 

Jake Lloyd didn't do that bad. I thought he did good. I didnt think any of his acting was stiff, unlike Hayden in AOTC but in ROTS he was great.

 

How about michael jackson?

 

What exactly were people expecting from Jake Lloyd? He was just a kid. Not every child actor can be Dakota Fanning or Haley Joel Osment. Those kind of acting talents from a youth come along maybe two or three times in a generation, if that. Were people expecting him to force choke Watto or something?

 

the guy who played Legolas in LOTR as adult Ani and the kid from The Sixth Sence as kid Ani.

 

Orlando Bloom's cute enough but I'm not sure he has the range to do the anger. But then I haven't seen Calcium Kid, so... *shrug*

 

I know Jake loyd is just a kid. But that's my point Exactly, he was just a kid. He wasn't really even a very good kid actor I thought. I wasn't expecting a Tom Hanks performance, but I was expecting to believe in the character, I didn't. For the part of Anakin they really could have gone with someone more talented or at least someone more experienced. As was said above, not every child actor can be Haley Joel Osment. But I just wish they could have had a kid who could play it more consitently through the movie as opposed to how Jake drifted in and out of the character and himself it seemed.

 

I remember this discussion with my SW friends years ago (before AOTC).
My choices for the older Anakin,
1st) Graig Sheffer - played the quarterback from The Program.
2nd) Casper Van Dean

Hayden did a great job.

Thank GL for not choosing Leonardo Dicaprio.

 

You're joking right????

 

Why?

Yes, yes, I too was on the "I Hate Leonardo DiCaprio" bandwagon when Titanic came out. But after seeing Catch Me If You Can and The Aviator, you can't seriously say that the man wouldn't have made a fantastic Anakin.

 

I would have done a pretty good job. But it wasn't meant to be.

 

All of the Hayden bashing about him being a whiney teenager in AOTC just gets to me! One person said it was b/c of Hayden's bad acting that no one likes the character of Anakin Skywalker. Whoever said that?? Take a poll....come on! Hayden was meant to be Anakin and like everyone else said, GL wanted a whiney teenager to be portrayed and I guess if it wasn't for Hayden's good acting then we wouldn't have gotten that. Another thing, I for one did feel sorry for Anakin in ROTS and I'm sure there are others out there!!!!


The subject is alternative actors for the part!!!

 

I would have done a pretty good job. But it wasn't meant to be

ah man, that was great. and exactly how I feel about playing Padme

 

The guy who plays Harry Osbourne in the Spider-Man movies. I think he would be a good Anakin.

 

It's all about Jake Gyllenhaal! Haven't any of you seen Donnie Darko?

 

hey folks thought id throw in my 2 pence (yes im scottish). i think that hayden ( who i must admit i REALLY disliked AOTC, the first time i saw it) did a fantastic job with what he was given by GL. and the thing that really makes it work is this : the interaction between him and ewan (mon the scots!!! ). i dont think you could have gotten that with mr dicaprio ( yes i know they wer acting, but there is some really strong interaction between them). as for jake i agree wi everyone who said this before, he was a kid hired to play a kid in a film, but yes HJO prob would have been better choice, but we did'nt chose, GL did.

 

Most definitely the dude who played the role of "Pyro" in X-Men 2. That guy was hardcore and would have been a great Anakin. BUT, to George Lucas' point..., he told Hayden that he was going to be a whiny padawan in AOTC, and would NOT be Vader. At first viewing, nobody liked HC as Anakin. After watching ROTS you realize that he earned his role as a young Darth Vader.

I still think Pyro would have been a cool Anakin....., just can't remember his name.