“Jake Lloyd starred in Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace – 1999 (Picture: Lucasfilm/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock) Jake Lloyd, who played Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, has shared an update following his ‘psychotic break’ in 2023. In the 25 years since the hit sci-fi film’s release, in which Jake, now 35, starred alongside Ewan”, — write: metro.co.uk
Jake Lloyd starred in Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace – 1999 (Picture: Lucasfilm/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock) Jake Lloyd, who played Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, has shared an update following his ‘psychotic break’ in 2023.
In the 25 years since the hit sci-fi film’s release, in which Jake, now 35, starred alongside Ewan McGregor and Liam Neeson, he has stayed out of the spotlight after a turbulent struggle with his mental health and tragedy in his personal life.
Now the star, who recently completed an 18-month stay at an inpatient mental health facility in California, has shared an update with author Clayton Sandell, admitting he feels ‘pretty good’.
The award-winning network news journalist came into contact with the star after receiving a call from Jake’s mother, Lisa, who said her son wanted to talk to Clayton.
Speaking to the reporter, of which the conversation was relayed on Clayton’s Substack account, Jake said he is in a positive space now where he feels ‘pretty good’ and ‘can now accept taking on continued treatment, and therapy, and my meds. Everyone’s been very supportive.’
In addition to schizophrenia, Jake was also diagnosed with anosognosia, a condition which, according to Web MD, is ‘well known’ to go hand in hand with the first diagnosis and means he is unaware of – or unconsciously in denial – about his symptoms.
Jake is a former child actor most well known for Star Wars (Picture: Keith Hamshere/Lucasfilm/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock) 
He has disappeared from the spotlight in recent years after mental health battles (Picture: Keith Hamshere/Lucasfilm/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock) Continuing with his update, Jake said he hit ‘rock bottom’ but believes it was necessary as it resulted in him being able to ‘honestly take part in treatment, honestly take your meds, and honestly live with your diagnosis’.
He also spoke about the positive impact fame had on him and how he still, to this day, finds his experiences with fans ‘immediately therapeutic’.
‘Right now, it’s still therapeutic. It’s helpful for people and healthy. It isn’t something I’d shy away from,’ he said.
With clearly fond memories of his time in the more than $70 billion film franchise, Jake said he has plans of spending May the Fourth, the unofficial commemorative day of the entire franchise, with his mum.
Lisa also spoke to the journalist about her son’s recovery, telling him that it has been ‘a big relief for me and the rest of the family – we’re all just thrilled that he’s doing as well as he is, and that he’s working really hard at it’.
Jake gave an update on his health after an 18-month stay in a mental health facility (Picture: J. Vespa/WireImage) Jake – who had first acted as seven-year-old in ER – attended private arts school Columbia College Chicago from 2007 but dropped out after a semester and a half after struggling with a downward spiral and hearing voices.
A prior diagnosis of bipolar disorder was updated to paranoid schizophrenia after a series of appointments with expert psychiatrics.
However, Lisa previously admitted to Scripps News that Jake didn’t cope well with the news, revealing that it ‘threw him off into an even worse depression’.
She also said that Jake would sometimes stop taking his prescribed medications or self-medicate with illicit drugs as he struggled with his mental health.
According to the NHS, doctors often describe schizophrenia as a type of psychosis. This means the person may not always be able to distinguish their own thoughts and ideas from reality.
Although the exact cause of schizophrenia is unknown, most experts believe the condition is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
It’s thought that some people are more vulnerable to developing schizophrenia, and certain situations can trigger the condition such as a stressful life event or drug misuse.
Symptoms of schizophrenia can include:
- hallucinations
- delusions – unusual beliefs not based on reality
- muddled thoughts and speech based on the above
- losing interest in everyday activities
- not wanting to look after yourself and your needs, such as personal hygiene
- wanting to avoid people, including friends
- feeling disconnected from your feelings or emotions
People with schizophrenia do not have a split personality. Schizophrenia does not usually cause someone to be violent.
Jake’s mental health took a scary turn in 2015 (Picture: Colleton County Sheriff’s Office via AP) 
However, he is in a better place now and plans to celebrate May the Fourth this year (Picture: Keith Hamshere/Lucasfilm/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock) Things reached a head in 2015 when he was arrested after a multi-county car chase with police resulted in a crash and Jake spending 10 months behind bars after Lisa’s attempts to get him admitted to hospital instead were foiled by a lack of beds.
More heartache would follow in 2018 as Jake’s sister Madison, who appeared in Phantom Menace as an extra, died unexpectedly in her sleep of natural causes aged just 26.
In March 2023 there came Jake’s ‘full-blown’ psychotic break, as the former actor wanted to turn off his car engine in the middle lane of a highway on a trip back from McDonald’s.
It was already a bad day for her son, Lisa said, with ‘a lot of yelling and screaming’.
‘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,’ she shared.
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