Star Wars child actor Jake Loyd’s mother addresses her son’s mental health struggles and assures him of his well-being
star wars Former star Jake Lloyd, who appeared in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace As Anakin Skywalker, he had to undergo 18 months of psychiatric treatment after being diagnosed with schizophrenia.
With the 25th anniversary of the 1999 film fast approaching, Jake’s mother speaks out scrips news And shared that his son is currently in a mental health facility after a ‘complete mental breakdown’ in March 2023.
Shedding light on his struggle, he revealed that Jake experienced early symptoms during high school, where he “saw people with black eyes staring at him” and was given medication for bipolar disorder.
Jake was later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, which “completely threw him into even worse depression,” his mom (Lisa) shared, “It was really hard.
She also recalled the time Jake called her and insisted that he had been shot in her apartment, after which Lisa realized it was a hallucination.
However, Jake Lloyds, now 35, is currently staying in a mental rehabilitation facility for 10 months to 18 months.
“He’s doing much better than I expected”, Lisa admitted, “He’s becoming a little more social. It’s like getting the old Jake back because he’s always been incredibly social until he became schizophrenic.
It is pertinent to mention that the former child actor had announced his retirement from acting at the age of 12 in 2001 due to ‘intense bullying’ following his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker.
Jake’s tragic revelation left fans heartbroken and they took to social media to show their support.
One user wrote, ‘Glad he is recovering but very sad to hear this.’
While another shared, Young Anakin made my kids love Star Wars. Let’s show compassion for Jake Lloyd’s recovery.
A third user expressed, “I’m glad he’s doing better. I wonder what happened to him after that film. Glad to see he’s okay. Still like Star Wars, that’s a good thing,” while a fourth user noted, “People were cruel to him in a very wrong way as a kid. I am happy that he is doing much better now.”
