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anyone but Hayden Christensen
Jun. 7th, 2007 05:58 pmEvery now and then, D. and I watch both Star Wars trilogies, even though we've both seen them a million times each. Both of us grew up with the original 3 and even though the prequels are, ah, somewhat lackluster in the acting department, they've still got good action and effects and aren't a dreadful way to while away a lazy evening.
Having said this, both of us tend to snark at crucial moments in the movies (well, me more than D.) because we've seen them so many times, and often our thoughts turn to what actors would make a better Anakin. The most irksome actor to play the character was the kid from "Phantom Menace", and whenever either of us sees a child actor that shows the tiniest bit of believable emotion we cry out "HE should have been Anakin!"
But my attention turns now to the older Anakin from the prequels played by Hayden Christensen. It's possible he's a good actor in something else* but I've only ever seen him in Star Wars' II and III and he sucks royally. I can't imagine what Padme sees in him and I'm astounded at the total lack of chemistry he and Natalie Portman have on screen. In the end it's no tragedy that he turns to the Dark Side because at least as Darth Vader he has some personality.
So being the big Star Wars geek that I am, I have to wonder who would have made a better teenage Anakin**. Mine and D.'s conclusions:
Jake Gyllenhaal: my current fave for his performance in "Donnie Darko" - he played both the confused, frustrated teen AND the maniacally grinning bunny-hallucinating freak. He has big soulful eyes and he's kinda goofy - I could see Padme falling for the inept young Jedi without even realizing he'll turn into Vader.
Joaquin Phoenix - D.'s suggestion based on his performance in "Quills", in which he plays an earnest, naive young priest tempted by Kate Winslet's laundress, and he's cruel enough in "Gladiator" that I could find him believably slaughtering a tribe of Sand People.
Thoughts? Who would make a better Anakin?
*To be fair, Lucas wasted the good actors that he did get, though Ewan McGregor tried until the end to make a silk purse out of the sow's ear of a script he was given: "You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you!"
**Again, working with the assumption that somehow the lines wouldn't have sounded quite so wooden coming out of another actor's mouth. I think Joss Whedon should have done the dialog for the prequels, but that's just me :P
Having said this, both of us tend to snark at crucial moments in the movies (well, me more than D.) because we've seen them so many times, and often our thoughts turn to what actors would make a better Anakin. The most irksome actor to play the character was the kid from "Phantom Menace", and whenever either of us sees a child actor that shows the tiniest bit of believable emotion we cry out "HE should have been Anakin!"
But my attention turns now to the older Anakin from the prequels played by Hayden Christensen. It's possible he's a good actor in something else* but I've only ever seen him in Star Wars' II and III and he sucks royally. I can't imagine what Padme sees in him and I'm astounded at the total lack of chemistry he and Natalie Portman have on screen. In the end it's no tragedy that he turns to the Dark Side because at least as Darth Vader he has some personality.
So being the big Star Wars geek that I am, I have to wonder who would have made a better teenage Anakin**. Mine and D.'s conclusions:
Jake Gyllenhaal: my current fave for his performance in "Donnie Darko" - he played both the confused, frustrated teen AND the maniacally grinning bunny-hallucinating freak. He has big soulful eyes and he's kinda goofy - I could see Padme falling for the inept young Jedi without even realizing he'll turn into Vader.
Joaquin Phoenix - D.'s suggestion based on his performance in "Quills", in which he plays an earnest, naive young priest tempted by Kate Winslet's laundress, and he's cruel enough in "Gladiator" that I could find him believably slaughtering a tribe of Sand People.
Thoughts? Who would make a better Anakin?
*To be fair, Lucas wasted the good actors that he did get, though Ewan McGregor tried until the end to make a silk purse out of the sow's ear of a script he was given: "You were my brother, Anakin! I loved you!"
**Again, working with the assumption that somehow the lines wouldn't have sounded quite so wooden coming out of another actor's mouth. I think Joss Whedon should have done the dialog for the prequels, but that's just me :P
