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Another Anakin Hayden wasn't quite right

#1 User is offline   Vwing Icon

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Posted 01 May 2004 - 12:02 PM

Ok, we can blame the script and director all we want, and rightly so, but there comes a point when you have to blame, at least a little, the actor. Hayden Christensen was not right for Anakin, and that I truly believe was one of the main downfalls of AOTC. Yeah I know Natalie sucked too, but I don't CARE about her character. Her only purpose is to give birth to Luke and Leia, she's not the reason I'm watching these movies. I'm watching because of Anakin, a character who, if treated correctly, should be on the same level as the Satan character in Paradise Lost. Hayden Christensen did not have the right balance of light and dark to make this character work. He either whined or killed people. So who should have been cast as Anakin? Who does work (and obviously I'm not talking of unknowns here but of people we do know)?

Christian Bale. I was thinking about it the other day, watching Equilibrium for the umpteenth time. This is a man who has the perfect balance of dark and light (which is why he was a great choice for Batman, and why he did well in American Psycho). He can be romantic, he can be charming, and he can pissed as hell when required to be. He doesn't overact. Even in Equilibrium, there was great opportunity for him to overact, but he played the part perfectly. He should have been Anakin Skywalker. Your thoughts.
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#2 User is offline   CowboyCurtis Icon

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Posted 01 May 2004 - 12:10 PM

I have to agree. Lucas' ability to pick out actors (or actors who'll go on to do bigger things), has really bit the big one. His only good choice was Ewan McGreggor, but McGreggor is more like Guiness in the fact that he already had some milestone roles. Guiness didn't really need Star Wars, neither does McGreggor, but I digress....

There was that one actor whom I thought would be a better Anakin and can play the innocent and the nasty at the same time.

Ryan Phillippe? (in Cruel Intentions)

The other films I've seen Hayden in (with better directors) has only been passable, so yes, I think we could lay a lot on Christiansen as being right for the part.... he's not.
Flying Ferret

Battle for the Galaxy--read the "other Star Wars"

All I know is I haven't seen the real prequels yet.
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#3 User is offline   Just your average movie goer Icon

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Posted 01 May 2004 - 08:40 PM

I always believed that Hayden was the wrong actor but unfortunately I don't know the other actors you refer to so I can't give any thoughts on that.

Whoever the actor was, he should have been mature, have a down-to-earth quality and (this is also important) be fairly well built. Hayden was skin and bones so it was very hard to convince myself that he could become the towering Darth Vader - and don't any of you tell me some that the robotic costume is the reason why he looks so large because we all know that's crap and I don't want to hear it.

But I digress, in addition to the above qualities, the right actor would have had one more that would be very important - he would be serious enough about his job that he would ask questions about why in the script, Anakin said and did certain things and he would challenge the director on things that he thought were inappropriate for the character.

Who could pull this off, however, is not a question I can answer. But I think your suggestions are probably very good - I just don't know the actors so I can't comment.
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Posted 02 May 2004 - 03:54 AM

QUOTE (CowboyCurtis @ May 1 2004, 12:10 PM)
Ryan Phillippe? (in Cruel Intentions)

I've only seen Ryan Phillippe act; I have never seen Hayden Christensen.


Hayden Christensen is better.
"I had a lot of different ideas. At one point, Luke, Leia and Ben were all going to be little people, and we did screen tests to see if we could do that." -George Lucas, in STAR WARS: the Annotated Screenplays (p197).
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#5 User is offline   Despondent Icon

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Posted 02 May 2004 - 11:14 AM

Maybe they could have CGI'd Bart Simpson. tongue.gif
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#6 User is offline   Jordan Icon

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Posted 02 May 2004 - 03:35 PM

I was hard on Hayden at first, but in time I grew to like him. I watched some other films of his, and came to the conclusion he is a good actor.

He was following a script that was forged from a twisted man's head. You could argue that any of the characters could have had better actors/actresses portrait them.

Thanks to Lucas, his dialogue was rushed and he had to act like some psychopath aboard the worlds largest emotional roller coaster ride. Lucas had Anakin in a different mood for every scene. It was comical watching him go from complainer to murderer, to lover all in 15 minute span.

Starwars characters are not top quality by any means. I'm sure any one could play the roles of Luke, Anakin, Obi Wan, Etc....

This post has been edited by Jordan: 02 May 2004 - 03:37 PM

Oh SMEG. What the smeggity smegs has smeggins done? He smeggin killed me. - Lister of Smeg, space bum
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#7 User is offline   Despondent Icon

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Posted 02 May 2004 - 06:53 PM

good point. this ain't shakespeare.
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#8 User is offline   Mike Mac from NYU Icon

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Posted 02 May 2004 - 07:28 PM

QUOTE
Ryan Phillippe? (in Cruel Intentions)



I've only seen Ryan Phillippe act; I have never seen Hayden Christensen.


Hayden Christensen is better. "


I have seen both Christensen {Life as a House, "That Newspaper guy movie"} and Philippe {Playing by Heart, Way of the Gun}

Ryan Phillipe has more range than people might think. Watch Playing by Heart. In that movie he plays his character very well with just that righht mix of darkness, innocence and purposefullness. After seeing that movie and Way of the Gun I really think he could have pulled off the role of Anakin. He could have given Anakin that "quiet darkness underneath" and rage that Anakin required and still score points with the teenage girls as being a hottie {not my thoughts, I assure you :yuck: }

But you know why Phillipe would never be chosen, even though he wa ms considered for the role?

1. He was too old. I believe at the time of the screen testing he was 23. It might have been too noticeable visualy that there is a difference between Ankin and Amidala's ages.

2. He would be too expensive. Phillipe was already an established Hollywood commodity.

3. He would be too difficult for George Lucas too control on the set.
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#9 User is offline   barend Icon

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Posted 02 May 2004 - 08:34 PM

Mat Doran should have played Anikan, he looks more related to mark hamil than Christianson did!

Mat liked that idea as well.
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Posted 02 May 2004 - 08:50 PM

QUOTE (Mike Mac from NYU @ May 2 2004, 07:28 PM)
But you know why Phillipe would never be chosen, even though he wa ms considered for the role?

1. He was too old. I believe at the time of the screen testing he was 23. It might have been too noticeable visualy that there is a difference between Ankin and Amidala's ages.

2. He would be too expensive. Phillipe was already an established Hollywood commodity.

3. He would be too difficult for George Lucas too control on the set.

Also, it's worth noting that he's 5'6".

Darth Vader's what, a foot taller? Bad enough Hayden Christensen's too short for the part; at least he's not a freakish gnome!
"I had a lot of different ideas. At one point, Luke, Leia and Ben were all going to be little people, and we did screen tests to see if we could do that." -George Lucas, in STAR WARS: the Annotated Screenplays (p197).
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#11 User is offline   barend Icon

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Posted 03 May 2004 - 02:54 AM

"he's more machine than man now"

if i fit that description, i'd make myself a foot taller wouldn't you.
i've always wanted to be 7 foot tall!!! -intimedation factor and all...
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Posted 03 May 2004 - 06:28 AM

Having a few cyborg limbs and electronic wiring going through you may bulk you up, Barend... but not enough to turn a skinny rake like Hayden Christensen into a towering giant like Darth Vader.

And I thought I told everyone earlier not to use the shitty reason that the robotic costume is the reason why Vader is so large. It is not a good reason.

Lucas was the one who stuffed up - not you, Barend. So stop trying to bail him out.
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Posted 03 May 2004 - 06:42 AM

By the way, that was nothing personal... I get what you meant.

But we all know that Lucas stuffed up on this, along with everything else.

I wouldn't mind being 7 foot tall either - for better career prospects (in all seriousness).
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#14 User is offline   barend Icon

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Posted 03 May 2004 - 07:26 AM

i wasn't bailing him out of annything...

but the physical change is barley noticible compared to the personality change... that's the real mystery, wouldn't you agree ? smile.gif


i just want to be a foot taller with some wicked ass cybernetics, and some sort of death ray cannon attatched to my chest!!!
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#15 User is offline   Esco Icon

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Posted 03 May 2004 - 08:40 AM

Hayden was all wrong for the part.
but lets look at who else Lucas had in mind for Anakin's part besides Phillipe.
He was trying to get in touch with Leonardo DiCaprio. What??? Well I guess it would
have made for better "romance scenes" in AOTC. Thats about it.

Joshua Jackson was a strong canidate as well. I think he would have been perfect.
He isnt too good looking, and is naturally weird and mysterious. In lots of his movie roles he has played off-beat characters with dark qualities. When I heard of
his name being thrown around, I thought for sure he would be Anakin. He also doesnt carry alot of mainstream notoriety...unless you count Dawson's Creek.
He's also the tallest of all the actors who's names were thrown around. He's 6'2.
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