PT Why Hayden Christensen Played Anakin PERFECTLY

The Emperor was not supposed to be a sympathetic villain. Vader was, and it worked because the portrayal of the character contained believable hints of a past nobility. This was all happening in real time. We weren't asked to suspend our natural judgments and feel a certain way about a character just because the narrative seemed to expect us to. We as viewers don't have any obligations to a movie. We don't have to put our trust in it and give it the benefit of the doubt. The movie should convince us through its quality storytelling. Since this series is being released in installments, each installment should function in its own right as well as being part of a larger story.

 

In reference to the mention of The Last Shot novel, there has been some exaggeration of a certain section of that book that Kylo fans have taken and interpreted to mean more than what was actually written in order to continue to woobify Kylo. He was not abandoned by his parents as a toddler and under the constant care of the robot nanny whose programming was sabotaged.

Anakin's childhood origins were shown via film for us to empathize with as opposed to being left to strange interpretations from a novel snippet.

 

He was atrocious in AotC. Better in RotS. Had some good moments.

 

He was way better in AOTC than ROTS. In AOTC his performance felt earnest, natural. In ROTS it felt more like he was consciously putting on a character and more than a few of his lines are delivered with a marked stiltedness that he never once evinced in AOTC. ("I've just learned a terrible truth. I think Chancellor Palpatine is a Sith Lord." Ugh.) Apparently an acting coach was brought on for ROTS. I think that coaching may have interfered with Hayden's natural instincts and imparted that artificiality to his performance. It's kind of like comparing Rivers Cuomo's singing in Weezer before and after he got vocal training.

The difference is that many people didn't like the character in AOTC but did like the character in ROTS. Many people confuse liking a character with the quality of acting that went into creating that character.

 

Yeah I don't want this thread to turn into a "Let's spend a debate on which performance is worse." Might as well argue about how the PT really sucks or that it only sucks a little.

 

Well, just so it's clear, I don't think the PT sucks at all. I'm just not as big a fan of Hayden's performance in ROTS compared to AOTC. I still quite like Hayden in ROTS for the most part and only find him truly disappointing at a few points in the film! Surely I of all people have earned my PT defender stripes.

But that being said, I certainly wouldn't object to moving on.

e: I guess I did say "more than a few of his lines" but on reflection that was just a bit of unnecessary verbal flourish and I really only meant "a few."

 

Fair enough, I disagree for the most part, and I definitely agree you have earned your stripes, but my time spent in the wastelands of the PT debate wars has reminded me how easy it is to get dragged into a debate that blows up and becomes a whole other beast. If the convo went on, it would likely be a back and forth of perceived flaws with both performances, and that wouldn't be much fun.

 

I had never considered the difference in his acting between AOTC and ROTS. I think ROTS is a better movie but, thinking back on it, you might be right that his performance is more natural in AOTC. One other culprit to consider is the type of dialogue he's being given; that "terrible truth" line is requires a McDiarmid-type delivery to work properly. And even then, the following sentence should not begin with "I think" if he already knows the truth. Perhaps there was more "Shakespearean" dialogue in an attempt to transition him into Darth Vader, which results in a more stilted performance.

 

To go back "in universe " for an explanation for this difference might go like this -

Anakin had -

Lost his arm
Got married against the rules of the Jedi
found out he was gong to be a father
Fought in a brutal war
continued to have dreams about Padme's death
struggled to reconcile his views as a young adult with a battered past with those of his mentor while continuing to be manipulated by a second father figure intent on pure evil.

Anakin had always dealt with his emotions by bottling them up and pushing them down as hard as he could. Starting at the end of AOTC and thru the climax of ROTS he got one stressor after another pled on. While some people would have simply exploded, Anakin reacted by pushing his feelings even further down , becoming even more tightly controlled and detached as time went on.

In the end of course all of that pent up energy did explode in the space of just a few hours after the death of Mace.

IMO - Anakin was supposed to be more wooden and robotic in ROTS and H C played it well..

 

I do suspect that part of it was probably intentional. A lot of his lines that sound stilted in ROTS seem like they could probably have been delivered better by James Earl Jones (besides the "Noooooo!" which even JEJ couldn't salvage), but they needed to have the character transition to where he is as Darth Vader, and part of that is the speaking mannerism. It makes sense that he would talk in that way in-universe, but he seems more suited to his AOTC type of dialogue.

 

When he says "yes, my master" he is totally saying it like Vader.

 

Fair enough but I see it a bit differently. I agree that he is pretty bad at times in RotS. His delivery of lines such as "If you are not with me then you are my enemy!!!" & "You underestimate my POWER!!!" seem to channel Will Ferrell from various SNL skits. Maybe he was the acting coach you mentioned, though I think even Will would tell him to take it down a notch in those scenes. Yet for most of the film he at least has a presence & some gravitas. There's even some good convincing acting here & there. In AotC he has as many or even more poorly delivered lines & ham-fisted reactions but without any screen presence at all. If you want examples of stiltedness how about the delivery of his "jokes" to Obi-Wan during the speeder chase. Or "Don't worry, we have R2 with us". I could go on & on, but won't.

That's not giving enough credit. I think most of us here can assess a performance on its own. How on earth is he more likeable in RotS anyway? He's shown as far more dim-witted & gullible. His instance of infanticide in that film is highlighted even more, with a cute cherub-faced kid shown as one of his victims. No, I think the fact that he's a more compelling character in RotS is partially down to a far better performance from the actor.

I would've liked the actor playing adult Anakin to get his distinctive mid-Atlantic accent from the OT down. As it is we're expected to believe that for some reason Vader went all pretentious & adopted a different accent by the time of the OT. They even had JEJ say his Vader lines in RotS with a more American accent to match the younger Anakin. It should've been the other way around. Have the young Anakin match older Vader. Not in the deep tone of voice but at least in the accent.

 

Because of the severe damage to his vocal cords causing him to require a voice modular to speak in anything above a whisper and age related changes its really not too much of a surprise that Vader's voice changed a bit over time.

 

I wholeheartedly concur. I saw this video when it came out, and I was like, "Yes. People need to stop blaming Hayden for this. He's not a bad actor."

 

I agree so much. Anakin/Hayden will always be my favorite part of Star Wars (and I already love so much to love about these movies, so that's quite an accomplishment).

I think it's funny that people complain about Anakin being whiny in Attack of the Clones, when that is exactly the point. He is 19 about to turn 20, trying to exert his independence and try to transition into adulthood. Like many teens in that age group, he feels like his parental figure is being annoying, bossy and overly critical. That's how the character is written and that's what Hayden played perfectly. It's not bad acting to be whiny when the role calls for it.

But, if all you can see is this surface level interpretation, you probably aren't really paying attention to the movie or the character. He's also pretty much joined a group in which he is an outsider. No one in the Jedi order ever understood what it means to grow up with a loving mother and to then have her die in your arms because you can't save her. He feels like he's meant to be this Chosen One, but he wasn't good enough (he says it in the movie) and he's disappointed in himself when he slays the Tusken Raiders. A lot of his arrogance and "whining" is meant to shield his own insecurities. Hayden does a great job of showing us these complexities, even the self-loathing Anakin feels at the Lars homestead when he makes his confession to Padme.

In ROTS, he is just pure perfection. I love watching the raw emotions flicker across his face. A famous example is when Padme tells him she is pregnant and you can see all Anakin's emotions. Another great moment is when Obi Wan leave to go to Utapau, he's watching him leave with a warm smile, but then reality sets in and you see the worry on his face. His "what have I done?" after cosigning himself to the darkness. Crying on Mustafar. The way he screams "I hate you" is gut-wrenching, the look on his face as Anakin burns. The flash of fear in his eyes before the Vader mask goes on. So many excellent moments, I can go on and on.

Every time I watch, I notice something new and amazing about his performance.

 

There is, to my eyes anyway, a bit of a difference between the acting style in ROTS compared to AOTC, in that the acting in ROTS seems more stage acting while AOTC seems more old-fashioned movie acting—and this is particularly clear when it comes to Christensen’s performance. I am positive this is intentional, for obvious reasons.

 

This distinction is so important it should be emphasised more. It's similar to how many people confuse liking a character with a well thought-out character (think Jar Jar).

The comment I'm about to make is not directly related to the subject of this thread, but is a spin-off from the linked video: Anakin barely had any idea what he was signing up for when he wanted to become part of the Jedi Order. In fact, it seems that he still does not have that good an idea ten years later. Being a Jedi is not all sunshine and roses. This is the reason why the Council is unwilling to accept Anakin into the Jedi Order initially. Many people praise Qui-Gon and criticise the Council about Anakin joining the Jedi Order, but ironically, it is Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan who fail to warn Anakin sufficiently about what is expected of a Jedi. Christensen did a wonderful job bringing out how Anakin feels lost within the Jedi Order, although he has lived in it for more than half his life.

 

I think his "I think" reflects his internal conflict. His first sentence is to give Mace enough persuasion to take the matter seriously, but then he back peddles to soften it a bit, probably hoping it would afford Mace and Palpatine a bit more wiggle room with each other, giving Anakin space to intervene how he sees fit.

But mostly, Mace doesn't completely trust him, so the "I think" helped make it not sound so incredulous and "boy who cried wolf" if you will.

Even after assuring Mace he was certain of it, he continued his efforts to at least assert himself into the situation by suggesting accompanying the Masters.

And I'd say his delivery is on point given all the layered circumstances. And again, it displays his internal conflict, and his attempt to control his roiling emotions; trying to pretend he's not personally emotionally invested in the outcome.

I'm not really sure how else the line could've been written or delivered. The "terrible truth" is a perfect segue to explain why Palpatine won't give up his powers and fits the dialogue style of the trilogy. I'd even go so far as to say it's a good illustration of Anakin trying to achieve an air of equality with Mace and his ilk, but as always coming off a little awkward.

Remeber as a teenager when you had to convince your parents you were telling the truth about something and they weren't sure about it? The situation makes you talk differently than you normally do. Especially if you factor in things you simultaneously were also trying to hide.

If anything, Jackson's delivery of "Then we must move quickly if the Jedi Order is to survive" is a little dry considering the circumstances

 

Sorry for the off topic but I used the search function and I wasn't able to find a right thread...here just for wishing Happy Birthday to Hayden Christensen! Even thanks to his interpretation Anakin Skywalker remain nowadays one of my favourite fictional characters.

 

I tried making him a bday cake, but I underestimated his flour....that he needed.

 

Happy Birthday to the GOAT Anakin Skywalker! And thank you Hayden for your contribution and dedication in creating one of the most complex characters in the series.

 

My goodness he's grown!

 

Happy Birthday Wishes for him is making Hayden Christensen trend on Twitter. I'm happy to see he is trending.

 

I also saw Hayden trending on Twitter and getting A LOT of love. It made me so happy to see people appreciating and praising him, despite the fact that naysayers like to convince everyone that he's not loved or appreciated. Clearly not the case with him being a top trend on Twitter because people remembered it was his birthday and wanted to wish him well.

Happy Birthday to Hayden Christensen! Thank you for you portrayal of one of my favorite characters of all time and giving me amazing childhood memories.

 

The "Chosen One"

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