H A Y D E N C H R I S T E N S E N !
The
past April 19, Vancouver-born Hayden Christensen, celebrating
his 19th birthday, was just another young, blond Hollywood hunk.
His only solid acting credit was a small role in the feature film
The Virgin Suicides and his portrayal of a troubled teen with
a drug problem in the shot-in-Vancouver American cable series
Higher Ground.
Less than a month later, however, his life was transformed when
he was pronounced the winner of the most exhaustive, exciting
star search since David O. Selznick crowned Vivien Leigh as a
Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind 60 years ago. You see, famed
writer-director George Lucas was looking for a teenage Anakin
Skywalker for his next two Star Wars films and, despite
a scant résumé, the fetching young Canadian nabbed
the highly sought-after role that will undoubtedly change his
life.
The 6'4" blue-eyed dreamboat, assured of instant stardom,
proved he's the all-Canadian boy when he got the amazing news
- he immediately phone home to Toronto. "When I phone my
mom, she was screaming at the top of her lungs," he says.
"My entire house was just chaotic."
The snare the coveted role of Anakin, Christensen had to screen-test
and beat out no fewer than 441 established actors - including
Ryan Phillippe and the mighty Leonardo DiCaprio. It can't have
been a complete shock to his family though. Christensen's brother,
Tove, says during his senior year at Unionville High his now-famous
brother put in a low-key yet highly emotional drama performance
that prompted several teachers to declare, "This is the next
James Dean!"
The prize - he'll be at the epicentre of the two remaining Star
Wars prequels, falling in love with Queen Amidala, played by Natalie
Portman, and eventually morph into the dreaded Darth Vader.
"It's awesome to portray a character who becomes Vader,"
says Christensen. "I'm getting ready to go to the dark side."
Christensen gives Portman much of the credit for his good fortune.
"The screen tests at Skywalker Ranch became all about meeting
Natalie," he says. "It was just the thrill of shooting
with her. I believe I have chemistry with her, and that is key
to my getting the part."
For his part, Lucas is confident that the force is with Hayden.
"He is very talented , has a great command of his craft,
and I know that he has the physical and emotional attributes to
play Anakin Skywalker at perhaps the most complex stage of his
life."
Though only 19, Christensen has been acting professionally since
age seven. In addition to the series Higher Ground, he's
appeared in several TV movies: Trapped in a Purple Haze,
Freefall, Danielle Steel's No Great Lover, Harrison
Bergeron, In the Mouth of Madness, and Love and
Betrayal: The Mia Farrow Story.
Not that he watches his own movies. He can't. The Los Angeles
apartment he shares with his brother Tove, 27, doesn't even have
a TV set yet. No, he's keeping it simple - for now at least -
and says he's too firmly grounded in solid Canadian values
to allow stardom to swell his head. "Besides, my family
would never let me get away with it," says Christensen, whose
parents have a home-based communications business in Toronto,
where Christensen was raised. "My grandma, especially. She
lives in Long Island. She's a New York Italian grandmother, so
she could give me a beating if she wanted to."
Tove, who grew up memorizing Star Wars movies, is keeping guard
against any megalomania. Notes Christensen, "He says I've
ruined it for him. He's like, "You're not Darth Vader. Come
on! I just kicked your ass last week. Come on!"
Yes, Christensen's three siblings are bound to keep him in line.
He will no doubt need his solid family grounding because his world
is about to change dramatically. The teen who will turn into Darth
Vader remains stunned by it all. "It's all very surreal,"
he says. "Star Wars is it's own entity, you know, it's just
a culture that is so fanatical. To be a part of that now is overwhelming."
Shaking his head in disbelief, he adds, "Or course, it's
petrifying, especially coming from the position I was in prior
to Star Wars. It'll be a change and, you know, you deal
with is as it comes along and just hope you can cope."
So how does such a sweet-looking boy-next-door devolve into the
hissing menace of the universe? "I don't know anything,"
he protests "I haven't even read a script. It's very hush-hush.
I don't think I'll ever get to see one until shooting begins.
I mean, usually you don't sign on to a project until you've read
the script, but this is a bit of an exception."
Not that he's taking much of a risk: the next two prequels will
be huge - and his place in the movies lore is secure. Yes, life
is good, and, to top it all, he'll be spending his summer filming
Episode II in so of the world's most exciting locales:
Australia, Tunisia, and Italy. "I've never even been outside
North America," says a wide-eyed Christensen "so it
will be an awesome way to see the world."
|
