Hayden Christensen Hayden Christensen ( born April 19 , 1981 ) is a film actor from , . Christensen is best known for his portrayal of an adult Anakin Skywalker in both " " and " " . Christensen also portrayed Darth Vader in the final prequel , in both the character ' s suited and unsuited forms . He wrote the foreword for " " . Early life . Christensen was born in Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada on April 19 , 1981 . His parents are Alie , a speechwriter for the heads of large companies , and David Christensen , a software program writer and communications executive . His father is of Danish descent and his mother has Italian and Swedish ancestry . Christensen has an elder brother and sister , Tove and Hejsa , and a younger sister , Kaylen . 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 was an athlete in high school , playing hockey at a competitive level and tennis on a provincial level . Christensen spent summers in Long Island with his maternal grandmother , Rose Schwartz , and attended the Actors Studio in New York as well as the Arts York program for drama at his high 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 . His big break was a starring role on the Fox Family network ' s " Higher Ground " ( 2000 ) . On the series , Christensen showed off his acting talent as a teen who was sexually molested by his step - mom , and turns to drugs in despair . Later he appeared in the television movie " Trapped in a Purple Haze " ( 2000 ) ( TV ) , where he co - starred with his friend Jonathan Jackson . Christensen has had quite notable performances in such films as " The Virgin Suicides " ( 1999 ) . His role as the troubled , misunderstood teen Sam Monroe in Irwin Winkler ' s " Life as a House " ( 2001 ) won him a ' Breakthrough Performance of the Year ' from the National Board of Review . The film also placed him as a nominee for ' Best Supporting Actor ' at both the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards . Star Wars . On May 12 , 2000 , Christensen announced that he would be starring as Anakin Skywalker in the next two prequels " Star Wars : Episode II - Attack of the Clones " ( 2002 ) and " Star Wars : Episode III - Revenge of the Sith " ( 2005 ) . The star was chosen by director George Lucas because he felt that Christensen had raw talent and good chemistry with actress Natalie Portman . Lucas stunned the movie world by picking the then - unknown actor after he had turned down such big names as Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonathan Jackson , as well as 400 other candidates . George Lucas is quoted as saying that he chose Christensen for the role of Skywalker because he " needed an actor who has that presence of the dark side " that was essential to solidify the story that Lucas was trying to tell : the origins of Darth Vader . In the final two films of the prequel trilogy , Christensen was the only actor portraying a Jedi who was not allowed to customize his character ' s lightsaber . This was because in " Episode II " , Anakin Skywalker ' s lightsaber was built to be reminiscent of Darth Vader ' s lightsaber in the original trilogy , while in " Episode III " , Anakin ' s lightsaber was designed to match the lightsaber that Obi - Wan Kenobi gives to Luke Skywalker , in " " . Canonically , the two lightsabers were one and the same . Hayden Christensen , during the production of " Episode III " , asked Lucas if a special Darth Vader suit could be constructed to fit his own body , rather than have a different actor don one of the original sets of Vader armor worn by David Prowse . Lucas agreed , and a suit was engineered to fit Christensen ' s frame , even including extensions to allow for the actor to attain Vader ' s 2 . 02 meter ( 6 feet 8 inches ) stature . Hayden ' s voice as the " robotic " Vader , however , was dubbed over by James Earl Jones despite rumors to the contrary . For the DVD release of the original trilogy , Christensen was edited in to replace Sebastian Shaw as the Force ghost of Anakin . Shaw ' s face during the unmasking scene was subtly altered to better resemble an elder Christensen . Also , Shaw ' s eyebrows were digitally removed in order to reflect Anakin ' s appearance after being burned alive on Mustafar . Christensen insists this was done without his knowledge , an act that was 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 . His role as Anakin Skywalker made him a star . Although his performance in both films was met with mixed reviews , he became very popular , being named in People Magazine ' s " 50 Most Beautiful People " , " 50 Hottest Bachelors " and Teen People Magazine ' s " 25 Hottest Stars under 25 " , and also was named in a local Singapore magazine as " Prettiest Villain " . For both appearances as Anakin , he won a Razzie for Worst Supporting Actor in both 2003 and 2005 respectively . In 2005 , for his portrayal in " Revenge of the Sith " , Christensen won the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain . For the 40th anniversary of " Star Wars " in 2017 , he appeared on stage at " Celebration Orlando " alongside George Lucas and Ian McDiarmid , and was interviewed by Andi Gutierrez on " The Star Wars Show LIVE ! " . Post - Star Wars . He also played in " Shattered Glass " ( 2003 ) , " Factory Girl " ( 2006 ) with Sienna Miller , " Awake " ( 2007 ) with Jessica Alba , " Virgin Territory " ( 2007 ) with Mischa Barton , " Jumper " ( 2008 ) with Samuel L . Jackson and fiancée Rachel Bilson ( who gave birth to their child Briar Rose Christensen early 2014 ) , " Takers ( 2010 ) " with Idris Elba and Paul Walker " , Vanishing on 7th street ( 2010 ) , American Heist ( 2014 ) , Outcast ( 2014 ) " and most recently , " 90 Minutes in Heaven ( 2015 ) " with Kate Bosworth .