Hayden and The Prince of Aldera
By - Charles Taylor a.k.a. The Prince of Aldera

Last July, after being turned down for the recurring role of "Henry" on Dawson’s Creek, I auditioned for some small day-playing part on a show being filmed in North Vancouver called Cliffhangers. I got that part, and two weeks later I was on my way out to the set. That morning I drove across the city and, as a small site note, I rear-ended some lady and spilled my coffee all over my clothes. Luckily, the now coffee-stained clothes weren’t the ones I was wearing on set that day - thecostume department of Cliffhangers had my wardrobe ready for me when I got there.

Anyhow, I arrived on set up in the mountains outside North Vancouver and went in my trailer. After putting on my outfit I strolled on over to the make-up trailer and sat in a make-up chair next to a man (Joe Lando) and one of the younger female cast members. I spoke with them for a bit while the make-up artists groped our heads and faces, and when Lando walked out, in came some young blond guy who looked about 17.

As this was soon after Episode I was released and being the avid Star Wars fan that I am, I was always checking out other actors who would be suitable to play Anakin Skywalker in Episode II. I studied this guy next to me and noticed that he fit the bill quite well. Oh well, it was time to head up to the set. I got there and met some of the guys who I’d be working with. I also was told that I’d be doing my scene with that guy who sat next to me inthe makeup trailer and one of the extras. A few minutes later I get atap on the shoulder and I turn around to see a hand extended in my direction, and I hear a voice saying "Hi, I’m Hayden." We chatted for a bit about this and that, and minutes it was time for him to do a scene.

I watched him block the scene a few times and then shoot it a few times. I was amazed! The guy was an incredibly actor and had the entire crew’s hanging on his every word! It was really quite incredible. As soon as the director said cut, everyone would breathe again and turn to one another and say, "Wow, he’s good." A few moments later, I shot my two-minute scene with Hayden.

After we were done, I headed back down to my dressing room and changed only my shoes, as the clothes I arrived in had coffee all over them. It didn’t matter that I was wearing the clothes from the shoot, because they were mine anyway. So the 3rd AD signed me out and I asked if I could stick around and watch the next scene. He said fine. I watched the next scene and chatted for a long time with the cast of Cliffhangers. I shook hands with Joe Lando and blah blah blah... So, after watching some of the takes I went up to Hayden who was sittingon an upside-down milk carton. He pulled up another milk carton andinvited me to sit down. So, we talked for a bit about where he wasfrom and how long he had been in Vancouver (only 3 days). It alsoturns out that we both were good friends with Carly Pope, who he starred in Purple Haze with and who I went to High School with. (See a picture of Carly over at IGN’s Reader’s Babe of the Day. She now stars as Sam in the WB’s hit show Popular.) So after talking about this and that for a while, I asked him if he’d seen the newly released Star Wars, The Phantom Menace. He said he’d seen it only once, and that hethought it wasn’t half as good as the old trilogy. One line I rememberfrom his review of Episode I was "But oh man... Natalie Portman is HOT!" Although we were agreed on that aspect, Hayden then suffered the inevitable perils of getting in a Star Wars argument with me – The Prince of Aldera. I basically held the conversation for about ten minutes as I blabbed on about how Star Wars is so cool and so much fun to be a fan of. He sat there attentively, hanging on my every word while smoking his cigarette. When I finally stopped, he said "Geez, I have to see it again. I think I missed the whole point of the movie."

So then comes the topic of casting for Episode II. I knew he was anestablished actor with the looks to fit the role, so I asked him if he was interested in auditioning for Anakin Skywalker. He said something along the lines of, "I’m not really sure that I would. I act because Ilove acting and I don’t want to be seen as a teen heart throb." Poor Hayden. Say a comment like that to a guy like me and you’re bound for a lecture. So, he suffered The Prince of Aldera’s "But this is Star Wars" speech and eventually changed his mind. "Yeah, it would be awesome to play Darth Vader now that I think about it," he says, or something like that.

So anyway, we chatted for a while longer but nothing of too muchimportance. He was interested in buying my car, and he invited me togo to the beach with him and the cast on the following Saturday. I spoke with him a few times after that but we eventually lost contactwith one another. So now I proudly pretend that I was the one whointerested Hayden in the prequels.

When I got the official word that he had been cast, I was stunned. Icouldn’t believe his picture was on the official site and splashedthroughout magazines next to Darth Vader’s helmet. I’ve tried to get ahold of him again, but he’s understandably hard to contact these days.

I also hear that that episode we shot of Cliffhangers (which later changed its name to Higher Ground) was the one that was sent to Robin Gurland by Hayden’s agent. Hayden’s performance in that show was the one that caught Gurland’s eye - obviously due to my amazing chemistry with him, which no doubt brought out the best of his acting abilities. :o) So as far as I’m concerned, Hayden, Gurland, and essentially the world owes me big time. Haha j/k

But Hayden, if you’re listening, hear this now:

YOU OWE ME AND MYSITE AN INTERVIEW! Rock the prequels, my man!