Jake Lloyd, who played young Anakin Skywalker, is doing better these days following the completion of a long-term treatment program for schizophrenia.
Jake Lloyd retired from acting in 2000 after starring in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and Jingle All the Way.
He’s now 37 and has previously been open about being bullied throughout school over his role as Anakin Skywalker. This period also marked the beginning of some serious mental health struggles.
His mother, Lisa Lloyd, told Scripps News that the changes started becoming apparent in high school:
“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.”
After a series of appointments with therapists and psychiatrists, Lloyd was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, a diagnosis that was followed by a period of deep depression.
A second, related diagnosis that made treatment more difficult
In a more recent interview with Star Wars: Timelines co-author Clayton Sandell, Jake and his mother discussed an additional diagnosis: anosognosia. Anosognosia is a neurological condition that affects a person’s ability to recognize their own illness.
“Jake’s condition stopped him from wanting to take medication because he didn’t believe he was sick,” she said.
