Hayden Christensen thought his 'Star Wars' role was so "unattainable" he asked for another part.
Hayden Christensen didn't think he'd be cast as Anakin Skywalker
The 42-year-old actor made his debut as Anakin Skywalker - who becomes Darth Vader - in 2002's 'Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones', and he wasn't convinced he'd get the job.
He told Empire magazine: "I was 18, and I got a call from my agent saying that they were casting for Anakin Skywalker in 'Star Wars' and I thought, 'Wow, how cool.'
"But it just seemed too big. And I remember asking my agent, 'Is there maybe another role that they’re also casting right now that you can put me up for? Because Anakin sort of seems unattainable.'
"And there was not. So I threw my name in the hat like everyone else."
Hayden was aware of other big names up for the role - including Leonardo Di Caprio - which added to his belief he would miss out on the iconic role.
He added: "I had heard that they’d met with Leonardo and a bunch of other actors. That just confirmed my thought that the role would go to another actor.
"Through the entire auditioning process I had told myself, from day one, that I wasn’t going to get the part. It just wasn’t a possibility.
"And I think that probably helped me a lot, because it just freed me up in a lot of ways. And so it really came as a surprise to me when I got the part."
The star - who went onto reprise the role in 'Episode III - Revenge of the Sith' and more recently 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' and 'Ahsoka' - was delighted to be working so closely with franchise creator George Lucas.
He recalled: "The scope of the opportunity — the enormity of it all — was exciting to me. It was obviously a little daunting too, but there’s a saying: 'Pressure is privilege.'
"I just felt very lucky to have it. I was really thrilled that I was gonna get to express George’s mapping out of how someone goes from good to bad."
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