'Star Wars' child actor Jake Lloyd revealed to be in mental health facility
Jake Lloyd, who portrayed the role of Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, is in a mental health rehabilitation facility, according to his mother.
Lisa Lloyd gave an update on her son in a recent interview with Scripps News, revealing that Jake was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2008.
Schizophrenia is a mental health condition that "disrupts several different areas of your brain, typically affecting one's thinking abilities, memories, and senses," according to Cleveland Clinic. "People with schizophrenia commonly struggle to tell what's real and what isn't. They often have hallucinations and delusions and struggle with disorganized thinking."
E! Online reported that the actor left the entertainment scene amid negative reviews on The Phantom Menace. His mom, however, said that it wasn’t a factor in his mental health problems.
“It would have happened anyway. I believe that it was genetic. And his psychiatrist also agrees that Jake was going to become schizophrenic,” she said.
"I protected him from the backlash. He was just riding his bike outside, playing with his friends. He didn’t know. He didn’t care. Everybody makes such a big deal about that. And it’s rather annoying to me because Jake was a little kid when that came out, and he didn’t really feel all that stuff because I didn’t let him online," she added.
According to Lisa, Jake was in high school when he began showing symptoms of his condition. “He started talking about ‘realities.’ He didn’t know if he was in this reality, or a different reality. I didn’t really know exactly what to say to that,” she explained, adding that he saw people with black eyes at the time.
Lisa said Jake’s doctor thought he may have bipolar disorder, but his official diagnosis was made following various mental health appointments after his high school graduation.
He had a "full-blown psychotic break" in March last year, but his mom said his mental health has improved since he got into a mental health facility. He's been there for 10 months now.
Aside from Star Wars, Jake also appeared in Jingle All the Way, Unhook the Stars, and Madison.