For a few years, it seemed like Hayden Christensen
could be Hollywood's next big thing—but then he pretty much disappeared. Where the
heck did he go, and what caused his exit? No help from 'Star Wars' Everyone may be all about Star Wars today,
but after the release of the prequel trilogy, the franchise was a shadow of its former self.
And Christensen's performance as Anakin Skywalker was frequently singled out for scorn. New
York Times critic A.O. Scott compared Christensen's efforts, along with Natalie Portman's, to
something you might see on an episode of Dawson's Creek. The Razzie Awards had a field day with
Christensen. He was awarded Worst Supporting Actor for both Attack of the Clones and Revenge
of the Sith. By the time the trilogy ended, it was hard to separate Christensen's performances
from the maligned movies. No hits After the dust settled from his time as Anakin,
Christensen starred in one flop after another. Among the very worst: the 2007 thriller Awake,
co-starring Jessica Alba, which grossed just $14 million in the U.S. and earned a 23 percent
score on Rotten Tomatoes. Christensen followed Awake with the head-scratching Jumper, which
earned an even lower score of 16 percent despite a pretty decent run at the box office. But
then there was Takers, which actually beat out the Rotten Tomatoes scores of Awake and
Jumper...with a twenty-eight percent. Ouch. 'Star Wars' ruined his credibility Ironically, before Attack of the Clones came
out in 2002, Christensen was considered by many to be one of the fastest-rising young
stars in Hollywood. Much of that had to do with his performance in the 2001 Kevin Kline
drama Life as a House, in which he played a son whose father tries to reconnect with
him after he learns he's dying of cancer. Christensen was even said to be in contention
for an Oscar nomination. He missed the final cut, but with Golden Globe and Screen Actors
Guild nominations instead, one might argue he was sixth in line that year. Meanwhile, sandwiched in between Attack of
the Clones and Revenge of the Sith was Shattered Glass. In that film, Christensen garnered
praise for his portrayal of journalist Stephen Glass, who wrote fabricated stories for The
New Republic in the '90s. The film proved to be a much-needed reminder of Christensen's
dramatic chops, but it received far less attention than Revenge of the Sith two years later.
By the time he fully transformed into Darth Vader, his star seemed to fall right back
to Earth. Walked away from fame Although he faced his fair share of hardships
during and after the release of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Christensen
revealed in 2015 that part of his disappearance from the spotlight was deliberate. According
to an interview with The Los Angeles Times in December of that year, Christensen bought
a piece of farmland after Star Wars and pretty much peaced out: "I guess I felt like I had this great thing
in Star Wars that provided all these opportunities and gave me a career, but it all kind of felt
a little too handed to me. I didn't want to go through life feeling like I was just riding
a wave." Christensen wound up spending about five years
away from movie sets. He made headlines in September 2015 when he returned to the big
screen in the faith-based drama 90 Minutes in Heaven—which, sadly, was greeted with
scathing reviews, a 24 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, and grossed just $4.8 million at
the box office. Maybe it's time to head back to the farm... Family man While he's not the movie star he once was,
Christensen's doing just fine at home with his girlfriend of many years, actress Rachel
Bilson, and their daughter, Briar Rose. Christensen reportedly met Bilson while working on the
movie Jumper. According to E! Online, the couple got engaged in December 2008. It was
called off in August 2010, but they reconciled three months later. They welcomed Briar Rose
in October 2014. He told E! Online in 2015: "I have this little angel in my life now and
Rachel and I are so thrilled. We don't sleep as much as we used to, but it's all so worth
it." In 2016, Bilson posted this photo to Instagram
of Christensen blowing bubbles for their daughter, revealing their happy home life away from
movie sets. And Bilson has nothing but lovely things to say about her partner. She
told Health magazine: "He's so incredibly supportive and considerate
… I've been in my relationship for seven years, so we've grown up together in a way.
This is my partner, my support, just there for me no matter what. And vice versa." With that kind of love, who needs Hollywood? Thanks for watching! Subscribe to our YouTube
channel to watch more videos like the one you just saw. And leave us a comment to let
us know why you think Hollywood lost Hayden's number...
I agree Star Wars blows, but I likes him in jumper and takers