Culture news This Star Wars actor ended up in a psychiatric hospital: he had a serious psychotic attack!
The supposed dream life of an actor in the Star Wars saga has turned into a nightmare. Several years after the filming, he began experiencing psychotic episodes. He even ended up in a psychiatric hospital in 2023.
The Fall of a Child Star
Star Wars fans know this actor well, now interned in a psychiatric hospital. Some even grew up with him. Jake Lloyd was the actor chosen by George Lucas himself to play young Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars, Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace, many years before he became the feared Darth Vader. A few weeks before the 25th anniversary of the film’s release in theaters, Lisa Lloyd – Jake Lloyd’s mother – gave an interview to our colleagues at Scripps News. She wanted to return to her son’s state of health and clarify the situation. According to his testimony, Jake Lloyd’s first mental problems date back to high school:
Jake started having problems in high school. He started talking about “realities.” He didn’t know if he was in this reality or another. I didn’t really know how to respond to that. -Lisa Lloyd
Following a doctor’s appointment, Jake Lloyd is diagnosed with bipolar disorder and is prescribed treatment to cure himself. In 2007, he graduated from high school, then the situation took a worrying turn just before the start of fall classes at Columbia College in Chicago. Often absent, he convinces himself that people are following him. He was eventually diagnosed as schizophrenic with paranoid tendencies.news that plunges him into a deep depression.
When they finally told him the news, he fell into an even deeper depression. It was really difficult. -Lisa Lloyd
A stay in a rehabilitation center
He then refuses to take his medication and ends up getting into a chase with the police during yet another crisis before crashing his car. Some time later, he suffered hallucinations in which he said he was the target of a gun. Jake Lloyd is today (March 2024) being monitored in a mental health rehabilitation center following a psychotic break last March. After 10 months out of the 18 planned, the latter seems to be doing better.
He’s doing much better than I expected. (…) He becomes a little more sociable. -Lisa Lloyd
His mother wanted to conclude the interview by assuring that her son is still a fan of Star Wars
He loves all the new Star Wars stuff. People think Jake hates Star Wars. He loves the saga. -Lisa Lloyd