Star Wars has birthed several stars (pun intended) from its franchise, from the legendary Harrison Ford to The Force Awakens' Daisy Ridley. One that stepped away from the spotlight before his fame could skyrocket, though, was Jake Lloyd.
The young actor, now 36, had made his mark in the profession in the late '90s, thanks to appearances in shows like ER and the 1996 Arnold Schwarzenegger film Jingle All the Way.
However, his breakthrough moment came in 1999, when he starred as a young Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, the very first introduction to the prequel series.
While the film has polarized critics and fans alike over the years, it did make Jake the face of a billion-dollar global hit. However, after making just two more films in 2001, Die With Me and Madison, he retired from acting at the age of 12.
Jake eschews social media, but resurfaced for a rare sighting earlier this week, courtesy of fellow Star Wars franchise child star Daniel Logan. Daniel, now 38, played Boba Fett in Menace's sequel, Episode II — Attack of the Clones.
"Just spent the day with my brother," he wrote beside a selfie he'd taken of the pair, with Jake now sporting thick facial hair and much darker locks, a far cry from the golden blonde bowl cut he sported in Menace back in 1999.
Life after Star Wars
After retiring from acting and leaving Hollywood, Jake kept out of the public eye for several years, focusing on his schooling instead. He did make appearances at several Star Wars conventions as he grew older, though, with his last appearance being in 2011.
In 2012, he announced that he was working on producing a documentary about Tibetan refugees in India, although it's unclear whether it ever came to fruition. He was enrolled for a semester at Columbia College in Chicago studying film and psychology, but dropped out after a semester due to struggles with his mental health.
Mental health journey
In 2012, Jake had said that he quit acting due to bullying at school and the very negative reception to Menace from both fans and the media. However, in a 2024 interview with Scripps News, his mother Lisa Lloyd opened up about his extensive struggles with mental health and family trauma.
She revealed that he began experiencing "hallucinations" when he was in school, often telling his mother he knew of different "realities" he concurrently lived in. After previously being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, he finally received the correct diagnosis: paranoid schizophrenia, combined with a neurological condition called anosognosia.
The Cleveland Clinic terms anosognosia as a condition where "your brain can't recognize one or more other health conditions you have," making it more difficult for him to take medication. "As a mom, you're just pulling your hair out because your child needs help," Lisa explained. "You know that he's sick. You know that he's not going to get any better unless he gets some medication."
Those issues were compounded by brushes with the law. In 2015, he was arrested in South Carolina for reckless driving, driving without a license, and resisting arrest, spending 10 months behind bars before he could be transferred to a psychiatric facility. He also was deeply affected by the sudden passing of his sister Madison in 2018 at the age of 26.
In 2020, he moved to California with his mother, and at the time of the interview, he was receiving therapy and treatment at an in-patient facility. "He's doing much better than I expected," she said.. "He is relating to people better and becoming a little bit more social, which is really nice."