1993–2005: Early work Christensen made his acting debut in September 1993, when, at the age of 12, he played a supporting role on the German-Canadian television series
Macht Der Leidenschaft/Family Passions. The following year, he had a minor role in
John Carpenter's
In the Mouth of Madness. Christensen's critically acclaimed portrayal of a misunderstood teenager in
Life as a House (2001) earned him
Golden Globe and
SAG Award nominations, as well as the
National Board of Review's award for
Breakthrough Performance of the Year. However, the performance did not receive widespread public notice. He went on to receive positive reviews for 2003's
Shattered Glass, which tells the true story of journalist
Stephen Glass, who was discovered to be fabricating stories as a writer for
The New Republic and other publications.
Peter Travers of
Rolling Stone wrote, "Hayden Christensen is sensational as Glass, finding the wonder boy and the weasel in a disturbed kid flying high on a fame he hasn't earned." In 2005, Christensen made his
Broadway debut when he appeared briefly in a 10-minute play. In 2005, he took part in the fifth annual "24 Hour Plays" benefit, which raises cash for nonprofit groups in the
Big Apple.
2000–2005: Star Wars prequel trilogy '' in
Berlin in 2005 On May 12, 2000, Christensen announced that he would be starring as an adult
Anakin Skywalker in
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005); Skywalker was previously portrayed by
Jake Lloyd as a child in
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999). The casting director reviewed about 1,500 other candidates before director
George Lucas selected Christensen. Lucas is quoted as saying that he chose Christensen because he "needed an actor who has that presence of the
Dark Side". This was essential to solidify the story that Lucas was trying to tell: Anakin Skywalker's fall from grace and transformation into
Darth Vader. Christensen was cast after
Leonardo DiCaprio turned down the film. Christensen admitted to
Star Wars Insider in 2005, that he found it difficult bridging the gap between Jake Lloyd's Anakin as an innocent boy and the villain Vader was introduced as in the original trilogy. While his co-star,
Ewan McGregor had
Alec Guinness to emulate, Christensen had no one to emulate. He said, "Ultimately, I had to be the linear connection between the Anakin that Jake Lloyd played, and capture Darth Vader as portrayed by
Sebastian Shaw when he was demasked in
Return of the Jedi." During the production of
Revenge of the Sith, Christensen asked Lucas if a special Vader suit could be constructed to fit his own body, rather than have a different actor don one of the original sets of Vader armour worn by
David Prowse. Lucas agreed, and a suit was engineered to fit Christensen's frame, even including extensions to allow for the actor to attain Vader's height. His voice as the "robotic" Vader, however, was dubbed over by
James Earl Jones, who first made the voice famous in the original trilogy. In one of the most controversial changes made to the
Star Wars original trilogy, Christensen was inserted into the 2004 DVD release of
Return of the Jedi, where he replaced Sebastian Shaw as the Force ghost of the redeemed Anakin Skywalker. Lucas wanted Anakin's inner person to return to who he was before he turned to the dark side. Christensen insisted this was done without his knowledge, an act that was confirmed by
Lucasfilm itself in the featurette "Return of the Jedi: What has changed?" as seen on the official website to commemorate the 2006 DVDs. Christensen's performance in both
Episode II and
III received generally mixed reviews from critics, although contemporary reviews note that his performance was mostly affected by Lucas' directing and the dialogue, and has since seen positive reappraisal in retrospect. However, long before the reappraisal, Christensen received praise from the cast and crew while filming the two prequels. At the time of the release of
Attack of the Clones,
C-3PO actor
Anthony Daniels described Christensen as "such a hero, and [a] terrific, clever actor." He also witnessed Christensen in his Darth Vader costume on set during filming for Revenge of the Sith. He said, "I've lived with Darth Vader for years, but there was something about Hayden being in the costume.... He had a presence. I cared that this nice guy had become this ultimate vision of evil." Following the reappraisal, in his 2019 memoirs, Daniels praised Christensen and McGregor for their lightsaber duel in
Revenge of Sith describing them as "marvellous." In 2022, when reflecting on the prequel trilogy and the reappraisal, Christensen said, “It’s like those films had a gestation period, where they needed a little time to ferment in the public psyche. The reception that the films have now, it’s very heartwarming.” Christensen was named in both
People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People and
Teen Peoples 25 Hottest Stars under 25. For his performance in
Episode III, he won the
MTV Movie Award for Best Villain.
2006–2018: Further work, films and television Between 2006 and 2007, he starred in
Awake, with
Jessica Alba, which tells the story of a man who remains
awake but paralyzed during
heart surgery, and co-starred in
Factory Girl, opposite
Sienna Miller and
Guy Pearce. Christensen next co-starred with
Samuel L. Jackson,
Jamie Bell, and
Rachel Bilson in the film
Jumper, the story of a young man who discovers he has the ability to
teleport; the film was released on February 14, 2008. Bilson and Christensen co-starred again in the same segment of the film
New York, I Love You. Christensen appeared opposite
Mischa Barton in
Virgin Territory, which was released directly-to-DVD in North America on August 26, 2008. The film, based on
The Decameron, is about a group of people who escape the
Black Plague epidemic by hiding out in a
Tuscan villa in Italy. In October 2009, Christensen started shooting the
horror film Vanishing on 7th Street, directed by
Brad Anderson, with
Thandiwe Newton and
John Leguizamo. Christensen appeared in the crime drama
Takers with
Idris Elba and
Paul Walker, released in the United States on August 27, 2010.
Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey is the fourth film in which Christensen stars with
Samuel L. Jackson. In the early 2000s Christensen formed a production company Forest Park Pictures alongside his brother Tove. The company produced two films that Christensen appeared in
Shattered Glass and
Vanishing on 7th Street. In 2010, Christensen sued
USA Network over allegations that they stole his idea for the TV show
Royal Pains. The suit alleges that Christensen met with USA to pitch a similar series entitled
Housecalls. During the meeting, Christensen alleges, he was never informed that a similar program was in development. Although a federal judge at first dismissed Christensen's lawsuit in 2011, in June 2012, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals reversed this decision and remanded the case back to the district court for further proceedings, in what was considered a legal victory for Christensen. On May 20, 2013, during the
Cannes Film Festival, the Russian company
Enjoy Movies announced the creation of Glacier Films, an alliance company with Christensen and his brother
Tove. Over a three-year period,
Glacier Films intended to make 11 "micro-budget" movies costing $1.5M each. The first project,
American Heist, starring Christensen,
Adrien Brody and
Jordana Brewster, started filming in June 2013. It is a remake of
Steve McQueen's
The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery. In 2014, he starred in the American-Chinese-Canadian film
Outcast, an action drama, alongside
Nicolas Cage. In 2015, Christensen starred in the film
90 Minutes in Heaven co-starring
Kate Bosworth and directed by
Michael Polish based on the
best-selling novel by the same name. In 2015, filming began of an unreleased World War II
Nazi zombies horror movie titled
Untöt, set to star Christensen. In 2017, he was in the film
First Kill alongside
Bruce Willis. In 2018 he appeared in the Canadian-American romantic comedy
Little Italy with
Emma Roberts and in the same year was in
The Last Man.
2019–present: Return to the Star Wars franchise In 2019, a few years after
the Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm, Christensen returned to the role of Anakin Skywalker, providing a voice cameo of the character's voice in
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Although Christensen was not involved in
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, he praised the film saying, "I loved what they did with it. The character predates me, and it's always been a collective effort in a lot of ways. I thought it was brilliant." Christensen also received a voice credit as Anakin Skywalker jointly alongside
Matt Lanter for the penultimate episode of the final season of the animated television series
Star Wars: The Clone Wars entitled "
Shattered" despite the fact the dialogue used for the episode spoken by Christensen was reused archival audio from
Revenge of the Sith. On October 22, 2021, it was reported that Christensen would also reprise the role for the Disney+ series
Ahsoka. In May 2022, Christensen reprised his role of
Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader for the
Obi-Wan Kenobi limited series on
Disney+. His portrayal earned positive reviews from critics, noting a huge improvement from his performance in the prequel trilogy. He appeared in the documentary special ''Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return
which premiered on September 8, 2022, Disney+ Day. In 2023, Christensen appeared in four episodes of Ahsoka
and was digitally de-aged. He was first seen wearing his outfit from Revenge of the Sith
and later another outfit similar to the one Anakin wore in the early series of The Clone Wars''. His portrayal earned more positive reviews. On 19 April 2025, during one of the panels at
Star Wars Celebration Japan, Christensen said that he would reprise his role in the second season of
Ahsoka. On 25 April 2025, Christensen and
Samuel L. Jackson surprised the audience at a screening of the
Revenge of the Sith 20th anniversary re-release in Los Angeles. Christensen told the audience that he had "so many amazing memories of making"
Revenge of the Sith. He has been attending several conventions as part of
Star Wars Celebration as a guest since 2017. In April 2019, Christensen met Matt Lanter at
Star Wars Celebration Chicago and said to him, "I love what you guys are doing. Thanks for keeping
Star Wars alive." ==Personal life==