Hayden Christensen Biography
Summary
"Hayden Christensen" (born April 19, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He appeared in Canadian television programs when he was young, then diversified into American television in the late 1990s. He moved on to minor acting roles before being praised for his role of Sam in "Life as a House". He gained international fame playing the young adult Anakin Skywalker in the "Star Wars" films.
Biography
Early life
Christensen, the third of four children, was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to Alie, a speechwriter for the heads of large companies, and David Christensen, a software program writer. His father is of Danish/English descent and his mother has Italian/Swedish and his sister is Joanie Christensen and she lives in Lévis. Even if she lives far away, they're very close to each other!.
Raised outside Toronto in Thornhill, Ontario, Christensen attended E.J sand Public School, Baythorn Public School and
Unionville High School in Unionville, Ontario, Canada. He attended the Arts York program for drama at the school. He was 'discovered' when his older sister Hejsa, a former trampoline champion, was shopping around for an agent after she landed a role in a Pringles potato chips commercial.
Career
1993–2000
Christensen's first acting role was on the television series "Family Passions", which aired on Canadian television in September of 1993, at age of twelve. The following year he acquired a minor role in John Carpenter's "In the Mouth of Madness". From 1995 through 1999, he appeared in several movies and television shows, including "Harrison Bergeron", "Forever Knight", "Goosebumps", "The Virgin Suicides", and "Are You Afraid of the Dark?".
He acquired wider notice while starring in Fox's Family Network TV series, "Higher Ground" in 2000, portraying a teen who was sexually molested by his stepmother, who then turned to drugs in his despair.
2001–2005
While Christensen's critically acclaimed portrayal of a misunderstood teenager in "Life as a House" (2001) earned him Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations as well as the National Board of Review's award for "Breakthrough Performance of the Year", the performance didn't receive widespread public notice. For his part in the movie, Christensen lost 25 pounds through a special diet. He eventually gained the weight back during the filming for a later film, Star Wars Episode III.
His role as Anakin Skywalker (who was previously played by Sebastian Shaw and Jake Lloyd) in "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones" (2002) made him a star. Although his performance was met with mixed reviews, he became very popular, being named in both People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People and "Teen People Magazine's" 25 Hottest Stars under 25, and also was named in a local Singapore magazine as Prettiest Villain. He suffered some revealing mishaps with his pants during physically active scenes. 'My pants in Star Wars were constantly splitting right up the crotch. I had to jump around and do all sorts of things, and the material tore very easily. If I bent my knees too far, I could hear the rip. That was always embarassing.'
He went on to receive good reviews for 2003's "Shattered Glass", which tells the true story of journalist Stephen Glass, who was discovered fabricating stories as a writer for "The New Republic", a national political magazine.
More favorable critical response came Christensen's way with the final "Star Wars" film "Revenge of the Sith" (2005), in which Anakin gradually converts to the dark side, finally transformed by the lies of Emperor Palpatine into Darth Vader. Stock footage of Hayden was used in the controversial 2004 DVD release of Return of the Jedi, where he was inserted over the original actor, Sebastian Shaw. Hayden insists this was done without his knowledge, an act that is confirmed by Lucasfilm itself in the featurette 'Return of the Jedi: What has changed?' as seen on the official website to commemorate the 2006 DVDs.
Christensen was the subject of part of London photographer Sam Taylor-Wood's photographic series called Crying Men (2002-2004), which also features 26 other actors in private moments of reflection. He was named one of "People Magazine"s "50 Hottest Bachelors" of 2005 and was chosen by "Teen People" as one of the "25 hottest stars under 25" in 2005.
2006–present
Christensen will be seen in "Virgin Territory", opposite Mischa Barton. The film, based on "The Decameron", is about a group of people who escape the Black Plague epidemic by hiding out in a Tuscan Villa in Italy. He also will be starring in "Awake", with Jessica Alba, which tells the story of a man who remains awake but paralyzed during heart surgery. He also starred in "Factory Girl" with Sienna Miller and Guy Pearce.
On July 22, 2006 at Comic-Con, Samuel L. Jackson announced that Christensen would be starring with him in the upcoming film "Jumper", the story of a young man who discovers he has the ability to teleport. Christensen joined Jackson, Jamie Bell and Rachel Bilson in the cast. Doug Liman ("Mr. & Mrs. Smith") directed the sci-fi thriller which is in post-production and slated for a February 15, 2008 release.
Personal life
He prefers to keep his personal life private. He tends to be 'linked' with co-stars such as Natalie Portman, Sienna Miller, and Rachel Bilson. Hayden has refused to reveal his sexual orientation, saying that he prefers to keep people guessing. He declared: 'To me, masculinity is the ability to flirt with the effeminate.'
External links
(Hayden Christensen profile at NNDB) .
(Hayden Christensen Interview) , Hayden Christensen talks about his role as Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Hayden Christensen.
