I would say those other kids dodged a bullet. They would have been famous for being in a crappy film. Instant type casted, and would have been very difficult to get away from that role.
I know some of you might hate for this, but Llyod did alright for Anakin. Sure I hated his cutsey performances, but he had some good performaces like acting cool when podracing, feels sad and nervous when kissing his mother goodbye and to be trained as a jedi, and squints when feeling nervous.
BTW
Devon Michears(other blonde kid you called him) could have been the better choice for Anakin though.
The transformation from the child Anakin to the Sith Lord Darth Vader is easy to make with the blonde kid, who at times during his delivery and through certain mannerisms looks like he may be hiding something dark and sinister. It's a bit harder to find that connection with the overly friendly and somewhat foolish Jake Lloyd.
Boy @1:11-not only can he act, he even looks exactly like a child version of Sebastian Shaw! (played Anakin Skywalker in ROTJ). Must've been ulterior motives for casting Lloyd…somebody out there knows.
1:16 That was such a perfect delivery of that line! He sounded very honest and doesn't sound like an annoying little kid trying to get the attention of adults by trying to act like one, like how Lloyd did it in the final film.
To those who think Jake Lloyd was the best, do you have eyes?!!! The third kid was definitely better. Next to Jar Jar Binks, Lloyd's performance in Phantom Menace was the most criticized and ridiculed element of the movie. Then again, I am not surprised that Lucas chose Lloyd, I meant, he kept Jar Jar in the movie.
Dude that kid with the light blond hair was miles ahead of Jake Lloyd and that brown hair kid. The blond hair kid was actually acting, not just reading his lines. He gave great emotion, and you could see the conflict and anger in him. You could see the potential of the dark side. Fucking epic, I wish they chose that kid.
@PerhapsPossibly Anakin was an innocent little boy whose hamartia was that he cared too much for those he loved and was unwilling to let them go; there was no inherent darkness in him. It was Palpatine who took that weakness and twisted him into the monster he became.
starting anakin off as a kid was stupid anyways. he should have started out at about 13 or 14. like the kid/warrior in the never ending story. he was a kid but ot so younng he was luaghable. lucas is an idiot who ruined starwars cause he made the films with the goal to make the most money not make the best film. GARBAGE
@hajdukyson but that's the point, this is meant to show what Anakin was like before he was consumed by the Dark Side. If he was always evil in some way, then the whole idea of there being an epic transformation would have been a fail.
I think Jake was the best for this role. The blond kid was really good though, I got the shivers at 1:26. He kind of reminded me of hayden in episode 2 when he said that. Besides I think they wanted to show that Anakin was a sweet kid and didn't want it to look like Darth Vader was lurking beneath the suface at nine years old. All in all Jake was best for the role. Blond kid was still cute and great though!
@PotcSWsNickJlover14 , perhaps if they had chose the third kid, then Anakin's fall in the third movie might be a little bit more convincing and not seem so rushed and contrived.
@PungiFungi , I see your point. :) Anakin's character did change very drastically in the second one and it made me wonder how he could change from being so sweet and then so corrupted in a decade.
@aruwin25 , if that is the case, then it wasn't handled convincingly in the trilogy. It would be one thing if we see a gradual slide throughout all three movies but instead we got a rushed job in Revenge of the Sith.
No way the blonde kid was creepy and not likeable enough to play a young Anakin. Remember, Anakin is supposed to be playful and charismatic, the blonde kid looked like he had turned to the darkside already.
The brown-haired kid had it all wrong (is that really Michael Angarano? weird). He was way too serious. I guess he thought that Darth Vader had the same personality as a child.
George Lucas would have been a great director for Communist Russia in the early 20th century. He knows little about character/acting - it's all about the style.
Natalie Portman is a screen actress. Readings and screen tests are part of the job. Natalie seemed quite professional. Perfectly honest, though, even Natalie didn't deliver her lines convincingly during parts of the three films. That was due to George's dialog and direction of the actors (or lack thereof). In fact, much of the dialog is stilted and awkward at times from most of the actors.
Jake still did a terrible job in the movie. His "acting" coupled with Jar Jar Binks makes the movie unwatchable. I cannot get through 20 minutes of this movie.
I used to be a little boy too. Till I lost all of my baby teeth. And then my child teeth. And them my teen teeth. And then......well.........heh heh heh heh. I can't say anymore sorry.....LOL.
I saw this loads of times in my Episode 1 DVD. I always thought the eldest blonde boy was really good. But I think George Lucas and the others were looking for a sweet little boy so they picked Jake.
Michael Angarano (he's the main character in "Sky High"), the brown-haired boy, was REALLY adorable (the cutest of all 3 actually) but he wasn't good.
Lloyd sucked. I liked the blond boys take better because let's think about this. Anakin's a slave on a planet that's a big ass desert. What does he have to be cheery about? The blond kid was more in character in that sense and if you notice his eyes you can almost see that despite his age he's been in the shit.
jake and the other blond boy did good, but i think jake put more emotion into it. the blond boy made the "i won't always be" sound so sad... but they all did great for nine year olds :)
Ok Ok ..... His performance was good... but I just dont like the way people bash his performace so much. He was not Bad and certainly very good for a nine year old kid.
he was the best out of the ones they had to choose from, but his performance was still lacking. like the woman says, there aren't many kids who can act!!!
if u go to the dvd of episode I bonus features called "the making of episode I", I think you see the name of the blonde kid in one of the black and white photos in the art dept of skywalker ranch, who should've been chosen to play anakin
i thought the boy with the light blonde hair was the best and gave the most dramatic performance. i never wouldve guessed that the young anakin would grow up into darth vader because he was so innocent but when the light blonde haired boy delivered it u could actually see that his innocence might grow into evil.
I would say those other kids dodged a bullet. They would have been famous for being in a crappy film. Instant type casted, and would have been very difficult to get away from that role.
videos4mydad 4 days ago
I think Jake sealed the deal on his "I won't always be" line. If the other blond hair kid nailed it, Jake was out for sure.
ddstar 1 month ago
@ddstar lol there was definitely much more to it than these few lines that they did in this video.
TonLocMU 3 weeks ago
This has been flagged as spam show
I know some of you might hate for this, but Llyod did alright for Anakin. Sure I hated his cutsey performances, but he had some good performaces like acting cool when podracing, feels sad and nervous when kissing his mother goodbye and to be trained as a jedi, and squints when feeling nervous.
BTW
Devon Michears(other blonde kid you called him) could have been the better choice for Anakin though.
tmMcHugh 1 month ago
Comment removed
tmMcHugh 1 month ago
The transformation from the child Anakin to the Sith Lord Darth Vader is easy to make with the blonde kid, who at times during his delivery and through certain mannerisms looks like he may be hiding something dark and sinister. It's a bit harder to find that connection with the overly friendly and somewhat foolish Jake Lloyd.
LanceMurtagh 2 months ago
The other kid was superb. Looks how I always thought a young Anakin would look.
They chose Jake Lloyd with his "Whoa, this is cool!" nonsense cos they thought it would appeal to a young audience.
It's a decision that pretty much sums up the entire film.
DrunkenPoetic 3 months ago
No offense meant tom Jake Lloyd, but the blonde kid totally would've been a better choice then him...
spacehelmetforacow 4 months ago
Boy @1:11-not only can he act, he even looks exactly like a child version of Sebastian Shaw! (played Anakin Skywalker in ROTJ). Must've been ulterior motives for casting Lloyd…somebody out there knows.
khbkb 5 months ago 2
1:16 That was such a perfect delivery of that line! He sounded very honest and doesn't sound like an annoying little kid trying to get the attention of adults by trying to act like one, like how Lloyd did it in the final film.
kamdan2011 7 months ago
1:23 that kid looks familiar
joedude967 7 months ago
"There are few children who can act..." Um yeah, well you sure found one, George.
futrellyourself 8 months ago
he didnt really have much to choose from did he
nvk1001 8 months ago
The third kid was the best, there was something behind his eyes
coenpat 9 months ago 2
@coenpat yes totally agree. He put some pain and maturity into anakin.
chinto1984 6 months ago
the boy with brown hair is micheal angarano!!!! wow and he was the one to become an actual actor..this audition was terrible.
burkstrum 9 months ago
I didn't like Episode 1, but Jake Lloyd was by far the best choice. The script was really crappy though..
The1Kidneythief 11 months ago
I liked the Bleach Blonde kid, something dark in his eyes, like a overwoked slave.
XvxBERSERKxvX 11 months ago
Why didn't they hire the third kid. He was the only decent of the three...
Fredcheesburger 1 year ago 4
jake lloyd was the best
aruwin25 1 year ago
young anakin must be innocent that u cant expect him to be evil....
aruwin25 1 year ago
jake lloyd was definatly the best!
toysgowild 1 year ago
To those who think Jake Lloyd was the best, do you have eyes?!!! The third kid was definitely better. Next to Jar Jar Binks, Lloyd's performance in Phantom Menace was the most criticized and ridiculed element of the movie. Then again, I am not surprised that Lucas chose Lloyd, I meant, he kept Jar Jar in the movie.
PungiFungi 1 year ago
I think I liked Jake the best :)
kidstable 1 year ago
Dude that kid with the light blond hair was miles ahead of Jake Lloyd and that brown hair kid. The blond hair kid was actually acting, not just reading his lines. He gave great emotion, and you could see the conflict and anger in him. You could see the potential of the dark side. Fucking epic, I wish they chose that kid.
PerhapsPossibly 1 year ago 8
@PerhapsPossibly you''re wrong.The real anakin doesnt have a dark side.It is because of his fear and love that he turned to evil.
aruwin25 1 year ago
@PerhapsPossibly Anakin was an innocent little boy whose hamartia was that he cared too much for those he loved and was unwilling to let them go; there was no inherent darkness in him. It was Palpatine who took that weakness and twisted him into the monster he became.
ArkadiosTheodulus 3 weeks ago
starting anakin off as a kid was stupid anyways. he should have started out at about 13 or 14. like the kid/warrior in the never ending story. he was a kid but ot so younng he was luaghable. lucas is an idiot who ruined starwars cause he made the films with the goal to make the most money not make the best film. GARBAGE
ming746 1 year ago
3rd kid was pretty good!
CrazyPandaMonkey 1 year ago
Are these kids trying for the role of Qui-Gon Jinn????????????
turokdarkstar 1 year ago
The 2nd kid was terrible. Lloyd was mediocre. The 3rd was pretty good.
Hworth8 1 year ago 2
Blonde boy would have been a good Tom Riddle.
genungapearl 1 year ago
jake lloyd was definatly the best, i think he made episode 1 a little better
TheToasterTV 1 year ago
@TheToasterTV HAAAAAAAAAAA.
saeka88 1 year ago
Out of the three Jake was the best, but geez, George, weren't there more to choose from??? I'd feel so intimidated with Natalie there!
wayner8088 1 year ago
@hajdukyson but that's the point, this is meant to show what Anakin was like before he was consumed by the Dark Side. If he was always evil in some way, then the whole idea of there being an epic transformation would have been a fail.
SolarSurface 1 year ago
Natalie Portman just pigging out on a bagel, not even acknowledging the kids.....WOW.
hanzobarren 1 year ago
The blonde kid at the end was pretty good. He should've got the part. Looks more like Luke anyway.
Chrisdrumz 1 year ago 4
what movie is this?
Mcrlover2death 2 years ago
u must be jokin but incase u arent its star wars ep 1 auditions
Nitro192 2 years ago
I Know what the fuck this is, I want to know from what documentary or program this was like 20/20 or 60min,
Mcrlover2death 2 years ago
i thought so its from "The Beginning: Making 'Episode I'" its a documentary kinda movie released in 2001
Nitro192 2 years ago
star wars duhhh
DKrock100 1 year ago
ahaha the last kid, "i won't always be" that was soo funny
kray1192 2 years ago
Whoops! I meant 1:25.
PotcSWsNickJlover14 2 years ago
I think Jake was the best for this role. The blond kid was really good though, I got the shivers at 1:26. He kind of reminded me of hayden in episode 2 when he said that. Besides I think they wanted to show that Anakin was a sweet kid and didn't want it to look like Darth Vader was lurking beneath the suface at nine years old. All in all Jake was best for the role. Blond kid was still cute and great though!
PotcSWsNickJlover14 2 years ago
@PotcSWsNickJlover14 , perhaps if they had chose the third kid, then Anakin's fall in the third movie might be a little bit more convincing and not seem so rushed and contrived.
PungiFungi 1 year ago
@PungiFungi , I see your point. :) Anakin's character did change very drastically in the second one and it made me wonder how he could change from being so sweet and then so corrupted in a decade.
PotcSWsNickJlover14 1 year ago
@PungiFungi but that;s what anakin is about.he has to change drastically
aruwin25 1 year ago
@aruwin25 , if that is the case, then it wasn't handled convincingly in the trilogy. It would be one thing if we see a gradual slide throughout all three movies but instead we got a rushed job in Revenge of the Sith.
PungiFungi 1 year ago
holy crap....the brown haired kid is the guy from forbidden kingdom! George Lucas should have chose him!
smoshnaked 2 years ago
No way the blonde kid was creepy and not likeable enough to play a young Anakin. Remember, Anakin is supposed to be playful and charismatic, the blonde kid looked like he had turned to the darkside already.
TylerDurdennnnnnnnnn 2 years ago
The brown-haired kid had it all wrong (is that really Michael Angarano? weird). He was way too serious. I guess he thought that Darth Vader had the same personality as a child.
randomname349 2 years ago 2
The second kid is a fenom. DAMNNN YOUUU
Novinte 2 years ago
George Lucas would have been a great director for Communist Russia in the early 20th century. He knows little about character/acting - it's all about the style.
AdArmand 2 years ago
Blonde kid at 1:25 delivers the line perfectly and there's a great sense of forboding. Way to fuck up the casting Lucas.
JBHutto 2 years ago 5
Jake was the best of that lot, those other kids sucked!!!!
Darckcloud73 2 years ago
jake had that by a mile....i dont see how people think different
naDskriD 2 years ago
jakes fat now and he probably smells too
BanginDopeJunt 2 years ago 3
that must have been awkward for Natalie portman
chexican09 2 years ago
How is it awkward? The scene is about them being friends, not lovers.
shfbdfi1273 2 years ago
Ok sorry... I didnt know (not a Star Wars fan)
lol
chexican09 2 years ago
Natalie Portman is a screen actress. Readings and screen tests are part of the job. Natalie seemed quite professional. Perfectly honest, though, even Natalie didn't deliver her lines convincingly during parts of the three films. That was due to George's dialog and direction of the actors (or lack thereof). In fact, much of the dialog is stilted and awkward at times from most of the actors.
abigguitar 2 years ago
Dang, I was only 6 years old.
nintendogsyo 2 years ago
based on this I say Jake had the best performance. Cute lil fella he was. Ohh and Michael too.. didn't know he auditioned for this role. =)
I thought Jake did pretty good in Episode 1 and he had good chemistry with Natalie.
pumpkinLub 2 years ago 3
Jake still did a terrible job in the movie. His "acting" coupled with Jar Jar Binks makes the movie unwatchable. I cannot get through 20 minutes of this movie.
PlutoniusX 2 years ago
Agreed man, that guy at the end had real depth to his acting...he knew the outcome of that character! LOL
owenzy17 2 years ago 3
Isn't Natalie Portman a dyed-in-the-wool Pro-Jewish fanatic? Why is she eating non-Kosher foods??!!
EzrinJem2 2 years ago
I used to be a little boy too. Till I lost all of my baby teeth. And then my child teeth. And them my teen teeth. And then......well.........heh heh heh heh. I can't say anymore sorry.....LOL.
maxcardun 2 years ago
ust what i saw there i thought the other blonde kid seemed better, almost darker...
hajduktyson 2 years ago 12
@hajduktyson yeah, and he luked a lot more like luke
loosekarrott 9 months ago
@hajduktyson
i actually think Jake Llyod did okay , but I agree I liked it when devon(the blonde kid you called him) turns the innocent personality more darker.
tmMcHugh 3 months ago
I saw this loads of times in my Episode 1 DVD. I always thought the eldest blonde boy was really good. But I think George Lucas and the others were looking for a sweet little boy so they picked Jake.
Michael Angarano (he's the main character in "Sky High"), the brown-haired boy, was REALLY adorable (the cutest of all 3 actually) but he wasn't good.
simpleplanrocknrule 2 years ago
they was all great
twint1p 3 years ago
Lloyd sucked. I liked the blond boys take better because let's think about this. Anakin's a slave on a planet that's a big ass desert. What does he have to be cheery about? The blond kid was more in character in that sense and if you notice his eyes you can almost see that despite his age he's been in the shit.
panamared75 3 years ago
Yeah but being a slave was the only thing Anakin knew so why would he be upset?
YeahhhMatee 3 years ago
jake has the best facial expressions..
jrnesbit 3 years ago
jake was the best choice. Bu all of those kids have talent
TyteTyson 3 years ago
jake is the best
the other sound kinda wreid for some reason
airadoz 3 years ago 2
i agree
JeffIsJello 3 years ago
i think that jake was the best choice but that other blond was good too...i dont think the one with brown hair was that good.
Ijustwannahavefun11 3 years ago
they have brown hair,,,
airadoz 3 years ago
i totally agree jake was the best but that blond was very good though and the bronw hair wasn't so good
twint1p 3 years ago
Jake was soo cute at 9! <3 that adorable little guy!
JLloydBL89 3 years ago
at 1:25 the guy from sky high
damgirl69 3 years ago
jake and the other blond boy did good, but i think jake put more emotion into it. the blond boy made the "i won't always be" sound so sad... but they all did great for nine year olds :)
so adorable!!!
heronaruto1212 3 years ago 3
Ok Ok ..... His performance was good... but I just dont like the way people bash his performace so much. He was not Bad and certainly very good for a nine year old kid.
Jon56WWE 3 years ago
he was the best out of the ones they had to choose from, but his performance was still lacking. like the woman says, there aren't many kids who can act!!!
AJFreeway 3 years ago
if u go to the dvd of episode I bonus features called "the making of episode I", I think you see the name of the blonde kid in one of the black and white photos in the art dept of skywalker ranch, who should've been chosen to play anakin
gregfujita 3 years ago
everyone thinks that other kid should have been chosen, but his audition wasn't great. jake's performance was a hundred times better!!!
AJFreeway 3 years ago
I think Jake Lloyd gave an awesome performance. There is NO ONE ELSE Who could have done it better than him
Jon56WWE 4 years ago
WOW. that better be sarcasm!
AJFreeway 3 years ago
Good to see Lucas made the wrong choice! :)
bbpatton 4 years ago
lol, amen to that!!!
AJFreeway 3 years ago
i thought the boy with the light blonde hair was the best and gave the most dramatic performance. i never wouldve guessed that the young anakin would grow up into darth vader because he was so innocent but when the light blonde haired boy delivered it u could actually see that his innocence might grow into evil.
Dinochomp12 4 years ago 21
the way he said "all my life" was as stale as possible!!! so i don't know if you could call him dramatic.
AJFreeway 3 years ago
i just did.
Dinochomp12 3 years ago
How did they get Jake to have bright blonde hair in the movie? Did he die his hair or was he wearing a wig?
videogirl2000 4 years ago
Who plays the other blonde kid?
JollyMe007 4 years ago
The kid with the black hair is really cute, even though the kid they picked was the best actor. I'd sooner adopt the black hair kid.
deathofsmokey 4 years ago
Who are the other two kids?
TrapDoorLover 4 years ago
i acully know the kid
assion1 4 years ago
Jake Lloyd rules can he send a persnal young Jake Lloyd video to mariorti1.I need an online friend because I am lonely at home.
mariorti1 4 years ago