With The Phantom Menace celebrating its twenty fifth anniversary this yr, it additionally marks Jake Lloyd’s thirty fifth birthday (the boy who performed Anakin Skywalker). In an interview with Scripps News, Lloyd’s mom, Lisa, shares her son’s story and the way the actor has battled in opposition to psychological sickness for a few years. She additionally explains how her son Jake by no means skilled the backlash following his efficiency in The Phantom Menace.
Lisa Lloyd famous that her son, Jake, began creating points in High School. At first, Jake was recognized with bipolar dysfunction. Jake began taking drugs however his mom says that nothing labored. Then in 2008, after dropping out of faculty, Jake was recognized with schizophrenia:
“Jake began having some bother in highschool. He began speaking about ‘realities.’ He didn’t know if he was on this actuality, or a distinct actuality. I didn’t actually know precisely what to say to that. …
He didn’t inform us he was listening to voices on the time. But he was.”
When Jake acquired the prognosis, his mom Lisa mentioned that it threw him additional into despair. It didn’t assist that Jake additionally has a neurological situation known as anosognosia, which causes a affected person to not concentrate on or unconsciously deny their signs. This led to him not taking drugs or going to remedy, considering nothing was flawed. It additionally led to self-medication via using illicit medicine.
In 2015, his mom tells of how Jake was beneath arrest after main police on a automobile chase earlier than crashing. At the time, Jake was not taking his treatment. While Jake spent 10 months in jail, Lisa fought to get him admitted to a hospital as an alternative, however she was instructed there weren’t any obtainable beds:
“I used to be speaking to the individuals on the jail and making an attempt to clarify to them that he’s off his treatment. But they wouldn’t give him his treatment. …
As a mother, you’re simply pulling your hair out as a result of your little one wants assist. You know that he’s sick. You know that he’s not going to get any higher except he will get some treatment.”
After being launched from jail, Jake moved to California the place he lived together with his mom. Even then, his struggles continued, together with one episode the place he known as his mom saying he had been shot inside his house. But in reality, Jake was affected by one other hallucination.
It didn’t assist that, in 2018, his sister Madison died on the age of 26. Lisa explains that Jake’s youthful sister, Madison was a supply of encouragement. Then in 2023, Jake suffered a psychotic breakdown whereas driving on the freeway. He then was admitted to a hospital and acquired assist at a psychological well being rehabilitation facility:
“He mentioned he needed to show the automobile off. And he turned the automobile off in the course of the three lanes, and we have been within the center lane. There was plenty of yelling and screaming. …
The police bought there, they usually requested Jake some questions. He was speaking to them, however none of it made sense. It was all phrase salad.”
He is at the moment 10 months into an 18-month keep at a rehabilitation heart. For those that assume Jake’s psychological well being points have been a results of the destructive backlash following The Phantom Menace, his mom Lisa doesn’t assume so. She says that she protected him in opposition to the destructive discourse and that it could’ve occurred anyway because of his father’s aspect of the household additionally having a historical past of schizophrenia:
“It would have occurred anyway. I imagine that it was genetic. And his psychiatrist additionally agrees that Jake was going to turn into schizophrenic. …
I protected him from the backlash. He was simply using his bike outdoors, enjoying together with his associates. He didn’t know. He didn’t care. Everybody makes such a giant deal about that. And it’s slightly annoying to me as a result of Jake was just a little child when that got here out, and he didn’t actually really feel all that stuff as a result of I didn’t let him on-line.”
In reality, Jake continues to be a giant fan of Star Wars. His mom gave him an motion determine of Ahsoka Tano for his birthday and he nonetheless likes sporting Star Wars shirts in public:
“He loves all the brand new Star Wars stuff. People assume Jake hates Star Wars. He loves it. …
Jake cherished filming Star Wars. He had a lot enjoyable. I’d love for him to get nicely sufficient to have the ability to do some little bit of one thing, and I’m certain he would possibly like to do this. He couldn’t at this level, however you by no means understand how a lot he’s going to enhance. So we’ll see.”
Lisa ends on a constructive word, saying that his son is “doing significantly better than I anticipated.” She additionally states that Jake is “changing into just a little bit extra social,” and is “extra keen about hanging out with household associates at barbecues and celebrating holidays.”
Born and raised in Hawaii, Jay Goodearl runs the YouTube Gaming channel “Good Games, Dude” His channel goals to open up video video games to newcomers and instant gamers and assist them perceive what makes video games the artwork type that it’s.
