Jake Lloyd: Mother of Star Wars actor who played Anakin Skywalker shares update on his mental health

The mother of Star Wars actor Jake Lloyd has opened up about her son's struggles with mental health and shared a rare update with fans.

Lloyd, played Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and has been noticeably absent from the Star Wars prequel's 25th birthday celebrations taking place in 2024.

The actor was also known for his role in the iconic Arnold Schwarzenegger holiday movie Jingle All the Way, in which he played his son Jamie. However, after landing it big, Lloyd took a step back from acting after experiencing bullying from his classmates.

In an interview with Blackbook in 2012, which is reported by NME, he explained: "my entire school life became a living hell." He continued: "Other children were really mean to me. They would make the sound of the lightsabre every time they saw me. It was totally mad. My entire school life was really a living hell - and I had to do up to 60 interviews a day." His mother, Lisa Lloyd, has opened up about his experience with mental health, and has set the record straight about what her son thinks about Star Wars and the misconception that the negative reaction to The Phantom Menace caused him to quit acting.

Speaking to Scripps News, she explained: "Jake started having some trouble in high school." She continued: "He started talking about 'realities.' He didn't know if he was in this reality, or a different reality. I didn't really know exactly what to say to that."

She took him to a doctor who suggested he might have bipolar disorder and he was given different medications to try and treat his symptoms but Lisa explained that nothing worked. After graduating from high school in 2007 he went to Columbia College Chicago, but this was short-lived. Lisa said: "He missed a lot of classes, and he was telling me that people were following him."

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He left college in 2008 and moved in with his mother and was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia. Lisa explained that her son's diagnosis "would have happened anyway", and that there is a family history of schizophrenia on his father's side.

She also squashed the rumours that he had quit acting due to the negative reaction to the Phantom Menace, explaining: "I protected him from the backlash. He was just riding his bike outside, playing with his friends. He didn't know. He didn't care. Everybody makes such a big deal about that. And it's rather annoying to me because Jake was a little kid when that came out, and he didn't really feel all that stuff because I didn't let him online."

Lloyd was arrested in 2015 in South Carolina for reckless driving, driving without a licence and resisting arrest. He was held for 10 months in Colleton County Detention Centre, before being transferred to a psychiatric facility. His mother outlined how she tried to get him out of prison, saying: "As a mom, you're just pulling your hair out because your child needs help. You know that he's sick. You know that he's not going to get any better unless he gets some medication." In March 2023, she explains that he experienced what she calls a "psychotic break", when he turned his car off in the middle of three lanes of traffic. She said: "There was a lot of yelling and screaming." Adding: "The police got there, and they asked Jake some questions. He was talking to them, but none of it made sense. It was all word salad." This time instead of prison, he was admitted to hospital and transferred to an inpatient program at a mental health rehabilitation facility. He is currently 10 months into an 18-month stay.

Lisa said: "He’s doing much better than I expected." She continued: "He is relating to people better and becoming a little bit more social, which is really nice. It's kind of like having more of the old Jake back, because he has always been incredibly social until he became schizophrenic."

She also revealed that he is still a huge fan of Star Wars and has been watching Ahsoka on Disney Plus. Adding: "He loves all the new Star Wars stuff. People think Jake hates Star Wars. He loves it."

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Sarah McCann is a Trends Writer for NationalWorld who specialises in stories around TV, Film and Health. If you liked this article you can follow Sarah on X (Twitter) here. You can also share your thoughts in the comment section below.