Hayden Christensen has spoken about why he decided to quit acting after featuring in the Star Wars prequel movies, having been cast in the role of Anakin Skywalker nearly 15 years ago.

The 34 year old star, who was just 19 when he was exposed to the glare of serious worldwide fame after being cast as the young Jedi warrior back in 2000 to play parts in Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005), has spoken in a candid interview about the effect that the role had on him.

Hayden Christensen spoke about why he quit acting after the 'Star Wars' prequels

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Leonardo DiCaprio Reveals Why He Turned Down Anakin Skywalker Role In The 'Star Wars' Prequels

By Stephanie Chase in Movies / TV / Theatre on 30 December 2015

Leonardo Dicaprio Hayden Christensen

‘The Revenant’ star was also offered the chance to play Spider-Man and Batman’s sidekick Robin.

Since skyrocketing to stardom with Titanic, Leonardo Dicaprio has had his pick of high profile film roles. But what’s just as interesting are the parts which the actor has turned down for example, could you imagine Leo as Anakin Skywalker?

Leonardo DiCaprio once turned down the role of Anakin Skywalker.

In an interview with Shortlist magazine, DiCaprio confirmed that he had meet with George Lucas back in 2002 to discuss taking the role of Anakin in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, which eventually went to Hayden Christensen.

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Outcast Trailer

Jacob and Gallain are Crusaders who have both been spent many years in China. Jacob believes his war fighting years are behind him and Gallian has since become a loner and an outlaw who has as little contact with the outside world. When the imperial throne is threatened by the current ruler's son, the future of the Dynasty is placed in jeopardy. The young child's future is put in the hands of Jacob and the boy's sister.

Jacob must find Gallain and together they must find a way to restore order to the governing power.

Outcast stars Hayden Christensen and Nicolas Cage along with Liu Yifei. The film was shot in the Yunnan province of China and was directed by Nick Powell.

Takers Trailer

Up unTIl now Gordon Cozier and his bank robber gang have remained one of the most proficient crews in the business. Each robbery is planned with meticulous precision, nothing is left to chance and every eventuality is planned for.

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Awake Review

By Jesse Hassenger

Bad

Surprising, really, that "anesthetic awareness" -- helpless, immobile and, it should be noted, very rare consciousness during surgery -- hasn't been explored in a thriller before. Or maybe it has and I don't remember; that would explain why Awake sounds so novel but feels so familiar. In Joby Harold's film, young millionaire Clay Beresford (Hayden Christensen) is undergoing a risky heart transplant operation when he realizes the anesthetic isn't working as it should -- he is completely and silently paralyzed, but continues to hear and feel everything around him. If the movie wanted to top itself, it could find a way for Christensen to transfer immediately from anesthetic awareness into catalepsy, and maybe knock off Poe's "Premature Burial." Unfortunately and despite its killer gimmick, Awake isn't consumed with that kind of B-movie zeal.

Clay, like so many men before him, tries to block out the pain by intense concentration on thoughts of Jessica Alba (playing his girlfriend Sam -- though oddly enough, Clay's strongest memories reveal nothing more explicit than Alba's demurely exposed back). His focus breaks down when he overhears some, shall we say, less than reassuring words from his doctors, and from there a trapped Clay races against time, desperately attempting to alert Sam and/or his possessive mother (Lena Olin) of the danger he's in.

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Shattered Glass Review

By Matt Langdon

Very Good

The need to get the best story first has always been an inherent part of the news business. But when a journalist crosses the line into the realm of fictional the whole integrity of the news business is thrown out the window.

This is in essence what happened to The New Republic magazine in 1998 when a writer of theirs named Stephen Glass fabricated a story about a computer hacker to such an extent that nothing in it was true including - sorry to say - the allegation that the hacker left his mark with an appealingly humorous alliterative caption: "THE BIG BAD BIONIC BOY HAS BEEN HERE BABY." (This of course has been overshadowed by the recent Jayson Blair/New York Times scandal, which shook out nearly identically but with much greater fanfare earlier this year.)

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Life As A House Review

By Norm Schrager

Good

The good news for George, a middle-aged, washed up architect, is that an enormous life change has motivated him to connect with his horrible teenage son and build a house by the ocean. The bad news is that the change is terminal cancer. The good news for moviegoers is that Irwin Winkler's Life as a House is filled with sharp, solid acting, a decent, sometimes harsh, script, and a few surprises. The bad news is that anything worth seeing here lives within an uneven sap of a film, unable to break free from the traditional Hollywood devices.

But much of Life as a House is completely watchable. Mark Andrus's script (he's written As Good As It Gets and the underrated, rarely seen Late For Dinner) appears cookie-cutter: he gives us the lazy, lonely, eccentric nobody (Kevin Kline); his estranged family, including beautiful ex-wife (Kristin Scott Thomas) and alienated teen (Hayden Christensen); and his predictably uptight neighbors, pissed off that his ramshackle of a house has stood in their beautiful oceanside neighborhood for twenty years.

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Steven Spielberg Wept At 'Revenge Of The Sith' Ending

By World Entertainment News Network in Movies / TV / Theatre on 06 May 2005

Steven Spielberg George Lucas Star Wars Ewan McGregor Samuel L Jackson Jurassic Park Natalie Portman Hayden Christensen Christopher Lee

When he attended a special première for the final 'Star Wars' film, 'Revenge of the Sith', director Steven Spielberg is said to have broken down in tears.

Movies can affect different people in different ways. Sometimes, even established and respected filmmakers have to appreciate the marvel of particular films. Two-time Academy Award-wining director wept at a premiere of his collaborator George Lucas' sixth and final 'Star Wars' movie 'Revenge Of The Sith'; the third part of the prequel trilogy which began in 1999 with 'The Phantom Menace'.

Steven Spielberg cried at the end of 'Revenge of the Sith'

The film stars Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, and long-time 'Star Wars' actor Anthony Daniels as C-3PO. The 'Jurassic Park', 'Jaws' and 'Schindler's List' film-maker, Spielberg was so moved by the eagerly-awaited conclusion of the sci-fi saga, he burst into tears at its screening in April 2005.

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Star Wars: Episode II - Attack Of The Clones Review

By Rob Blackwelder

Good

The climactic lightsaber duel in "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones" has to be seen to be believed. It puts the awesome Darth Maul/Obi-Wan fight in "The Phantom Menace" to shame, and it's one of the big pluses in a mixed blessing of a movie that is a vast improvement over its immediate predecessor, but sometimes in fits and starts.

Any fan will have the same reaction to this showdown: As it's about to begin, you'll laugh, because with the characters involved the idea seems almost absurd. Then you'll cheer, because George Lucas knows you're laughing, and plays into it beautifully. Then your mouth will drop open in amazement. How did he pull this off? This is so cool!

Suffice it to say, this scene -- and the huge battle that surrounds it as the fabled Clone War begins -- is worth the price of admission all by itself.

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