Star Wars child actor Jake Lloyd’s mom gives rare health update on his rehab after he suffered a psychiatric break that led to schizophrenia diagnosis
The mother of Star Wars star Jake Lloyd revealed that her son is now in a mental health facility, years after he was diagnosed with schizophrenia following his role in 1999’s The Phantom Menace.
‘He didn’t tell us at the time that he was hearing voices. But he was. When they finally told him, it completely plunged him into even worse depression,” his mother Lisa said in a new interview with Scripps News.
Lloyd, now 35, said in a 2012 interview that the role he played when he was 10 years old made his childhood hell as he was bullied by other children. His last acting credit was in 2005, according to IMDB.com.
Three years later, Lloyd was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and anosognosia, a condition that caused him to deny his original diagnosis.
‘He didn’t tell us at the time that he was hearing voices. But he was,” his mother said. Lisa went on to say that the condition runs on her son’s father’s side of the family and that this would have happened regardless of the backlash he received for his appearance in the widely circulated sci-fi prequel.
Jake Lloyd is seen with his mother Lisa and sister Madison, who died in 2018 at the age of 26
Lloyd gained worldwide fame for his role as Anakin Skywalker in the 1999 film
In 2015, he was sentenced to 10 months behind bars after leading sheriff’s deputies in South Carolina on a high-speed chase.
In 2018, his sister, Madison, who was an extra in The Phantom Menace, died in her sleep at the age of 26. ‘He just couldn’t handle it. He didn’t know how to process it,” Lisa said.
However, in March 2023, things took another dark turn.
Lisa said she was in a car with her son after picking up food at a McDonald’s.
‘He said he wanted to turn the car off. And he turned the car off in the middle of the three lanes, and we were in the middle lane. There was a lot of yelling and screaming,” she said.
‘The police arrived and asked Jake some questions. He talked to them, but nothing made sense. It was all word salad,” Lisa said, adding that he started treatment the next day.
The Jingle All the Way star sought outpatient treatment as part of an 18-month program at a mental health hospital. According to his mother, Lloyd has eight months left and is doing well.
“He’s getting along better with people and he’s becoming a little more sociable, which is really nice,” Lisa said.
Lloyd is seen in the DMV photo (left) and booking photo (right) from his 2015 arrest in South Carolina. He spent ten months in jail without posting bond before being transferred to a psychiatric facility and diagnosed with schizophrenia
When Lloyd was first diagnosed, Lisa said he wouldn’t take medication or see a therapist because he didn’t think there was anything wrong with him.
Contrary to speculation, Lisa also said that Lloyd remains a big fan of the franchise.
“He loves all this new Star Wars stuff. People think Jake hates Star Wars. He loves it. Jake loved filming Star Wars. He had so much fun,” she said.
For his most recent birthday, he was gifted an Ahsoka action figure.
Lisa described how she protected her son from the backlash by banning him from going online.
‘Everyone makes such a big deal about it. And it’s kind of annoying for me because Jake was a little kid when that came out, and he didn’t really feel any of those things because I didn’t let him online.”
‘He just cycled outside and played with his friends. He didn’t know. He didn’t care.’
She said her son’s decision to quit acting had more to do with the stress of his parents’ divorce and a general lack of enthusiasm.
The Phantom Menace will be released in theaters in May to celebrate the film’s 25th anniversary.
Lloyd was cast in the film, one of the most highly anticipated of all time, at the age of six, after starring in the 1996 Christmas classic Jingle All The Way, opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger.
However, after Star Wars, his acting career ended virtually overnight. His last film credit was a small role in the 2001 sports drama Madison.
In a 2012 interview, Lloyd said he had decided to quit acting due to vicious bullying at school, and had destroyed all his Star Wars memorabilia.
After moving from Hollywood to Chicago and studying film at Columbia College, Lloyd dropped out after just one semester.
Police were called to his mother’s home in Indianapolis in March 2015 on an assault complaint. She said he argued with her and hit her, but declined to press charges because he was mentally ill.