PT Anyone think Jake Lloyd was cast because.....

He looks like a young Leonardo Dicaprio ??

Leonardo DiCaprio did say in an interview that he turned down Star Wars, which would make sense why Lucas went with Jake instead of a better actor.... I'm sure Spielberg was telling George about Leo and how excited he was that he was going to work with him for Catch me if you Can (2002). Leonardo DiCaprio was the perfect Anakin , esp at that time.

 

I suppose it could be possible, but I don't see them being that prescient. Either way, I think they chose Hayden because he fit a certain 'look' and bore a slight resemblance to Mark Hamill.

 

I doubt it, but it is interesting. Here's a comparison with an adult Jake:



I suspect Jake was cast because he brought the most youthful enthusiasm to his readings and met their appearance criteria. Personally, I think Lucas cast and directed the role too young, but that's neither here nor there for the discussion of the moment.

 

Titanic may have made Leonardo DiCaprio one of the most famous movie stars alive, but believe it or not, he could have been even bigger. In a new interview, DiCaprio reveals a raft of super-iconic parts he was offered but passed on, and they're doozies.

The Inception actor was grilled by UK website ShortList, and admitted that he had his pick of parts in Batman Forever, Spider-Man, and Star Wars, but could never quite pull the trigger:

There's a rumour you screen-tested for [Robin in Batman Forever]...
I never screen-tested. I had a meeting with Joel Schumacher. It was just one meeting and, no, I didn't end up doing it.
Did you actually want the role?
Er, I don't think I did, no [laughs]. As I recall I took the meeting, but didn't want to play the role. Joel Schumacher is a very talented director but I don't think I was ready for anything like that.
Do you feel like you dodged a bullet?
[Laughs.]
Were you in talks to play Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels?
I did have a meeting with George Lucas about that as well, yes.
What happened?
Same scenario [laughs].
He wanted you, but you didn't fancy it?
Um, right. Exactly.
Why?
Again, just didn't feel ready to take that dive. At that point.

 

Star Wars Episode 2, Leonardo DiCaprio

Published at: May 24, 1999, 11:50 p.m. CST by staff

Since dropping the bombshell about Leo being out on Skywalker Ranch, I've received TONS of confirmations. He was there, that much is known. It is also known that Leo is a HUGE fan of Star Wars and allegedly would be willing to take a pay cut to be in the next one... HOWEVER... Do take note that it wasn't only Leo that went out there, but also his 'posse'. One source went so far as to say he's been signed, personally I do not yet believe that.

I know Leo was out there, I know he saw a private screening of SWE1, but WHY did Lucas do that? Is it as a favor to FOX? Is it to win Leo over to play Anakin and establish a trust? Did Lucas feel bad when THE BEACH trailer got terrible BOOS at Mann's Chinese, and decide to give Leo an exclusive screening.... OR is it all just innocent.

I think Lucas is thinking about Leo for that role. Hmmmm.... We'll see, time will tell.... Patience.

Harry -- Nayland Smith here.
Now that your other spies have let out the information I already had regarding Mr. DiCaprio's visit to the Lucas ranch last week, I can offer some information that they could not.
The principal purpose of his visit to the ranch was for a private screening of Episode 1. I know this to be true, with no room for error (the means by which I came by this information is unimpeachable).

 

So . . . Lucas chose between the 7 year-old Jake Lloyd and the 23 to 24 year-old Leonardo DiCaprio back in 1997? I'm a little confused.

Also, I don't really miss DiCaprio in the role of Anakin. I am more than satisfied with both Lloyd and Christensen.

 

That theory seems like complete nonsense to me. The only comparison in looks was with Mark Hamill. The timing is also way off. Jake Lloyd was cast in 1997 (or 96?), hardly a time where Lucas was dead-set on getting Leonardo DiCaprio to play Anakin in Episode II.

And who exactly would this "better actor" that Jake Lloyd was taken ahead of be?
Jake Lloyd was chosen because he offered what Lucas wanted. First, you don't make it into the final three just because. Second, as you can see in "The Beginning", Lucas thought that he had "it". Out of the three, one doesn't get mentioned in the short bit, the other was doing well with everything, while Jake Lloyd was great in some parts and not quite there in others. In other words, Jake Lloyd was chosen because his best was far better than what the other candidates did.

I never understood any complains about Jake Lloyd anyway. He played a kid, he was a kid, there wasn't some sort of brilliant stuff a different child-actor could have given to the role. One might wonder whether making the character that young was a wise idea - though I understand why Lucas did it - but there really wasn't anything bad about the way Jake Lloyd played it.

 

I wonder if that makes us the only two in the world !? There are lots of bits in Star Wars that make you want to look at the ceiling, but none of Jake's scenes are among them for me. In fact some of them are among my favorite. The table scene in TPM is great I think given the mix of characters.
"Now this is podracing !" has me scratching my head - but not his acting...

 

It should have been the same actor in all 3 of the prequels; that would have worked better if they started with a teenager Anakin and let the same guy play him.

 

I think it was actually about having Leo take over the role in EP II instead of Hayden. If the Skywalker Ranch meeting happened in May 1999, obviously it was way too late for him to be in EP I, but production hadn't started on EP II yet.

 

No, this would make no sense. Likeness with DiCaprio could hold some water, but Lucas ultimately chose a child he liked the most due to his acting ability. It's all there in the behind the scenes of TPM. And Jake was the best of the bunch when they were down to three children and was by far the most comfortable and natural in the short scene with Portman.

I completely agree.

 

I see. Anyway, I still don't miss DiCaprio. Not by a long shot.

 

Another big factor in determining who would play Anakin in Episodes II and III was also how well that actor would pair up with Ewan Mcgregor since the relationship between Anakin and Obi-Wan was obviously a prominent feature. And with Leo, I just don't see it.

 

Especially since Ewan got dumped from The Beach for Leo.

 

I didn't know that. But I think ti would be weird because DiCaprio is too old.

 

I agree. He is only three years younger than McGregor.

 

I didn't know that either until I read about Danny Boyle wanting to do Trainspotting 2 now...apparently there was a rift between Ewan and DB over the casting of The Beach?

 

In 1999, after the film came out, Ron Howard had to come to Lloyd's defense and talking about the pressures of being a child star. Something that he was very familiar with.

 

OP was suggesting that Lucas was hoping to cast DiCaprio as Anakin in Episodes II and III, and selected Lloyd for Episode I specifically because he most resembled a young DiCaprio, thereby creating a greater sense of continuity across the three movies. There's no evidence the latter part of that is the case (and there is evidence it's not) other than that they do have noticeable facial and mannerism similarities (IMO). Heck, teenage Leo could pass for a teenage Jake (just imagine him with the bowl cut rather than the styled look):

 

I think he was cast because he auditioned and passed

 

This.

 

I think it's more likely that they looked for a resemblance to Sebastian Shaw than it is that they looked for a resemblence to Decaprio.

 

Not to mention that Lucas met with Leonardo DiCaprio for the role.

 

My only fundamental issue with this idea is that Lucas likes to go with relative unknowns. He made a conscious effort to avoid picking big movie stars for each of the films (and for very good reasons). As I recall, the only truly established movie "stars" he picked for the films were Guinness & Cushing in the OT and Neeson & Lee in the PT (for very similar roles respectively). But he also correctly reasoned that those actors weren't recognised by the target audience for these films. Di Caprio in 1999/2000 was easily one of the biggest movie stars on the planet; recognised by kids and adults alike. The last thing Lucas would have wanted would have been folks watching the PT and saying "look, there's Leonardo Di Caprio".

Perhaps in 1997 (before Titanic came out) he would have still been a contender... and perhaps any meeting Lucas had with him took place prior to that film's release. If Lucas had previously seen The Basketball Diaries, for example, you could understand why he'd want to go with Di Caprio on talent alone. As I recall, he plays an Anakin-like tragic hero in that movie. But I don't believe he picked Lloyd because he looked like Leo. There's no question they do look alike... but if you look at the screen tests for TPM, Lloyd was the best choice for what Lucas envisaged. That's not to say he was the best actor available... but he had the best natural, instinctive qualities.

Di Caprio is unquestionably a better actor than Christensen (which is no insult to Christensen) and I remember being a big fan of the idea of Di Caprio getting the role back at the time. But I don't miss Di Caprio in the part. I think Christensen delivered the goods.

 

Having said all that, I recall a pretty authentic looking piece of concept art, supposedly leaked in 1999/2000 of Di Caprio as Anakin... wouldn't have been unusual for the art team to use an actor as a placeholder - they used the kid from Braveheart in their initial designs for Anakin in TPM.

Can't seem to find the image via Google but I know it exists. Worth posting if anyone has it.