2005-05-27 17:53:37CARMEN
Hayden Christensen enjoys trip to the Darth side
Hayden Christensen enjoys trip to the Darth side
Thursday, May 26, 2005
By BARRY KOLTNOW
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Hayden Christensen says now that the "Star Wars" series has concluded, he'll probably go back to doing smaller dramas.
A simple notation on the daily call sheet during the filming of "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" almost started a stampede.
When word got out that Hayden Christensen was going to don his Darth Vader mask for the first time, more than 1,500 people from every corner of the studio lot tried to squeeze into a relatively small soundstage to see the 24-year-old actor put on the infamous black costume.
Observers on the set report that a hush fell over the assembled masses until director George Lucas yelled "Cut," upon which the crowd erupted in spontaneous applause. And it was pretty exciting inside the mask, too.
"You can buy the Halloween costume, but it's just not the same as wearing the actual Darth Vader mask," a laughing Christensen said recently in an interview at Lucas' 5,000-acre Skywalker Ranch north of San Francisco.
"It not only was fun, but there was something very empowering about wearing it," he explained. "It gives you a beastly feeling.
"And, as much fun as it was to be inside the mask, what I really enjoyed was watching people react to me. Even close friends of mine showed a glimmer of fear when they first saw me. They needed to pay some respect to Darth Vader. They lowered their heads and took a few steps backward.
"It was very cool."
The Canadian-born actor, who was last seen playing a disgraced New Republic magazine reporter in the well-received film "Shattered Glass," is understandably giddy over the release of the new "Star Wars" movie. He has endured a fusillade of poison-dipped arrows from fans and critics alike since the last "Star Wars" movie, "Attack of the Clones."
In that film - the second prequel and fifth film overall in the series - Christensen played Anakin Skywalker during his awkward teen years, and the fans generally disliked his character.
Lucas takes full responsibility for Christensen's plight.
"Hayden is an extremely talented actor," the director said in a separate interview, "but I had him play the whiny teenager. He really hated it, but I think he did a good job.
"However, this movie ['Revenge of the Sith'] is what he signed up for. This is why I cast him - to be the brooding bad guy. He finally came into his own in this movie."
For his part, Christensen said he holds no hard feelings toward Lucas.
"It was never a popularity contest for me," Christensen said. "George hired me to do a job, and if George is happy with the performance,
then I'm happy with the performance.
"Believe me, when I first read the script, I knew this was not going to be the typical hero's role that people root for. That was fine with me because Darth Vader shouldn't be the typical hero that people root for.
"Having said that, I must say that I enjoyed the work much more in this film than in the last one. I enjoyed the sensibility of Anakin as an adult more than I did the sensibility of the petulant young teenager. Still, I defend the character I played in the last one because it was necessary to inform the decisions that Anakin would make later [in the new movie]."
It wasn't just about sensibilities, though. Christensen said he also had to change his appearance to reflect the transition from whiny teenager to confident Jedi warrior who eventually becomes the menacing Darth Vader.
On orders from his director, Christensen underwent a rigorous twice-a-day weight-training program that put 25 pounds of muscle on his 6-foot-1-inch frame.
"I worked for every one of those pounds," he said, pointing out that he already has lost almost all of the muscle mass since filming ended two years ago.
"What made it worse was that I was losing weight from the daily light saber practices, and I had to work even harder, and eat that much more, to keep putting the weight on. And then there were the endless protein supplements. My stomach hated it the first few weeks, but the body eventually adjusts.
"I ended up in the best shape of my life, and I would love to have been able to maintain that look, but I'm not willing to go to the gym twice a day. It's never been my inclination to work that hard in a gym."
Christensen, who got his start on the Fox Family Channel drama "Higher Ground" and then made the leap to the big screen in the 2001 film "Life as a House," said it is unlikely that he will continue following the well-worn path of Hollywood action star. He said he probably will return to smaller dramas now that the "Star Wars" series has ended, but he acknowledged that it was fun while it lasted.
"Listen, I grew up watching Darth Vader. I grew up thinking about Darth Vader. Now, I'm actually playing Darth Vader. It's not only a privilege; it's a dream. It's every kid's dream.
"On top of that, I'm an action figure. You don't get to be an action figure that often. One day, my kids are going to come to me and say, 'Dad, why were you an action figure?'
"And I'll tell them that I was once Darth Vader."
Thursday, May 26, 2005
By BARRY KOLTNOW
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Hayden Christensen says now that the "Star Wars" series has concluded, he'll probably go back to doing smaller dramas.
A simple notation on the daily call sheet during the filming of "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" almost started a stampede.
When word got out that Hayden Christensen was going to don his Darth Vader mask for the first time, more than 1,500 people from every corner of the studio lot tried to squeeze into a relatively small soundstage to see the 24-year-old actor put on the infamous black costume.
Observers on the set report that a hush fell over the assembled masses until director George Lucas yelled "Cut," upon which the crowd erupted in spontaneous applause. And it was pretty exciting inside the mask, too.
"You can buy the Halloween costume, but it's just not the same as wearing the actual Darth Vader mask," a laughing Christensen said recently in an interview at Lucas' 5,000-acre Skywalker Ranch north of San Francisco.
"It not only was fun, but there was something very empowering about wearing it," he explained. "It gives you a beastly feeling.
"And, as much fun as it was to be inside the mask, what I really enjoyed was watching people react to me. Even close friends of mine showed a glimmer of fear when they first saw me. They needed to pay some respect to Darth Vader. They lowered their heads and took a few steps backward.
"It was very cool."
The Canadian-born actor, who was last seen playing a disgraced New Republic magazine reporter in the well-received film "Shattered Glass," is understandably giddy over the release of the new "Star Wars" movie. He has endured a fusillade of poison-dipped arrows from fans and critics alike since the last "Star Wars" movie, "Attack of the Clones."
In that film - the second prequel and fifth film overall in the series - Christensen played Anakin Skywalker during his awkward teen years, and the fans generally disliked his character.
Lucas takes full responsibility for Christensen's plight.
"Hayden is an extremely talented actor," the director said in a separate interview, "but I had him play the whiny teenager. He really hated it, but I think he did a good job.
"However, this movie ['Revenge of the Sith'] is what he signed up for. This is why I cast him - to be the brooding bad guy. He finally came into his own in this movie."
For his part, Christensen said he holds no hard feelings toward Lucas.
"It was never a popularity contest for me," Christensen said. "George hired me to do a job, and if George is happy with the performance,
then I'm happy with the performance.
"Believe me, when I first read the script, I knew this was not going to be the typical hero's role that people root for. That was fine with me because Darth Vader shouldn't be the typical hero that people root for.
"Having said that, I must say that I enjoyed the work much more in this film than in the last one. I enjoyed the sensibility of Anakin as an adult more than I did the sensibility of the petulant young teenager. Still, I defend the character I played in the last one because it was necessary to inform the decisions that Anakin would make later [in the new movie]."
It wasn't just about sensibilities, though. Christensen said he also had to change his appearance to reflect the transition from whiny teenager to confident Jedi warrior who eventually becomes the menacing Darth Vader.
On orders from his director, Christensen underwent a rigorous twice-a-day weight-training program that put 25 pounds of muscle on his 6-foot-1-inch frame.
"I worked for every one of those pounds," he said, pointing out that he already has lost almost all of the muscle mass since filming ended two years ago.
"What made it worse was that I was losing weight from the daily light saber practices, and I had to work even harder, and eat that much more, to keep putting the weight on. And then there were the endless protein supplements. My stomach hated it the first few weeks, but the body eventually adjusts.
"I ended up in the best shape of my life, and I would love to have been able to maintain that look, but I'm not willing to go to the gym twice a day. It's never been my inclination to work that hard in a gym."
Christensen, who got his start on the Fox Family Channel drama "Higher Ground" and then made the leap to the big screen in the 2001 film "Life as a House," said it is unlikely that he will continue following the well-worn path of Hollywood action star. He said he probably will return to smaller dramas now that the "Star Wars" series has ended, but he acknowledged that it was fun while it lasted.
"Listen, I grew up watching Darth Vader. I grew up thinking about Darth Vader. Now, I'm actually playing Darth Vader. It's not only a privilege; it's a dream. It's every kid's dream.
"On top of that, I'm an action figure. You don't get to be an action figure that often. One day, my kids are going to come to me and say, 'Dad, why were you an action figure?'
"And I'll tell them that I was once Darth Vader."