Hayden Christensen

Casting Director Robin Gurland, who saw six months of hard work come to a successful conclusion with the selection of Christensen, said, "Hayden has those special qualities you hope to find in an actor. He pops off the screen." She added: "And he had two of the characteristics that I was really seeking for the character of Anakin: He has the vulnerability, and he has the edginess that's needed. We really had to have that combination, and it's rare to find an actor who can go back and forth so well." Casting Director Gurland calls Christensen one of those actors whom it's difficult to take your eyes off of. "There is something so interesting going on behind those eyes; you just want to know more. I think that's what my initial attraction was given that he fulfilled all of the other things that I was looking for as far as his look, his age, his temperament and his innate quality. But, besides that, to me, he is just an amazingly seductive and intriguing actor."

Gurland started the actual Anakin casting process last October. Since then she met in person, or in some cases on tape when the distances were too great, 442 candidates out of hundreds of submissions. She looked at intriguing submissions from as far afield as Iceland. "There were no auditions; everything was done by meetings," Gurland said. "It was basically sitting down for 20 minutes to two hours and finding out who they are as an actor and what kind of experience they have." From that group, Gurland winnowed down the possibilities to about 25, and discussed them in detail with Lucas, showing him tapes of them. After those sessions, she arranged for George to personally meet with a small group of actors for informal chats, some in Los Angeles and some at Skywalker Ranch. The process culminated at the Main House at Skywalker Ranch last weekend for the screen test with Natalie Portman with the four finalists. "It was really a very relaxed situation," Gurland said. "George, Natalie and I would sit down with whomever we were testing and just chitchat for a while and then do a rehearsal at the table with a scene in the style of one that would be in Episode II, although it's not one that we'll see in the film. Then the actor and Natalie would rehearse and George would give notes. When everyone felt comfortable, we'd go to where we were shooting, do a blocking rehearsal and then tape until George felt he had gotten what he wanted."

Christensen said that it hasn't really sunk in yet that he's going to portray Anakin Skywalker — the boy who becomes Darth Vader — in the next two Star Wars films. "My brother Tove and I have always been big fans," he said. "We used to play some of the early video games religiously, for an hour at a time, to make sure we became Jedi Knights." "I love acting because it's a bit of an escape," he said. "It gives you the ability to reinvent yourself. They say that acting is the shy man's revenge." "Everyone was so nice last weekend that they made me feel at ease," Christensen says. "It was like a big field trip going to the Ranch." "I'm very excited about the challenge it's going to present and really looking forward to working with a lot of good people," he added. "It's especially exciting to work with actors such as Natalie Portman and Ewan McGregor whom I've really admired. And I get to use lightsabers... and the Force!" ----All info from the Official Site.

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