Star Wars Child Actor Jake Lloyd in Mental Health Rehab Facility Following Psychotic Break Last Year, Mom Says

Jake Lloyd, who starred in Star Wars franchise as a child actor, is now in a mental health facility, according to his mother.

In an exclusive interview published with Scripps News on Monday, Lloyd’s mother, Lisa Lloyd, told the newspaper about her now 35-year-old son’s ongoing struggles with mental illness.

She also wanted to share some of the reasons she is more hopeful today than she has been in years.

Lisa Lloyd and son Jake Lloyd.

Ron Galella, Ltd./Collection of Ron Galella via Getty

Jake appeared Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace as a child where he portrayed Anakin Skywalker. In later films, Skywalker would become the formidable villain Darth Vader.

And with the 25th anniversary The Phantom Menace release fast approaching, Lisa thought it was the perfect time to open up about how her son has been since he was in Star Wars.

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“Jake started having problems in high school,” Lisa told Scripps News, recalling the time she first noticed a change in her son’s personality. “He started talking about ‘realities’. He didn’t know if he was in this reality or another reality. I didn’t really know exactly what to say to that.”

She added that one day she asked him if he had finished his homework, and he told her: “I don’t even know if I should do it.” I don’t know what reality I’m in.”

“And I say, ‘Well, you’re in my reality today, so you have to do your homework,'” Lisa told the then-teenager.

Jake Lloyd, 1999.

20th Century Fox/Everett

After taking Jake to the doctor, the doctor said he might have bipolar disorder, she said.

Although he was prescribed several medications to treat the problem, nothing seemed to work, Lisa says.

As time went on, Jake graduated high school in 2007 and was excited to start fall classes at Columbia College in Chicago. However, this is where Lisa said things started to change drastically.

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“He missed a lot of lectures and told me that people were following him,” she told the newspaper.

She said her son would claim to see people with “black eyes” staring at him in public, and would sometimes engage in late-night conversations with Daily show host Jon Stewart through his television screen.

Jake Lloyd, Philadelphia Comic Con 2011.

Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic

He continued to see doctors until he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

“When they finally told him, it completely threw him into an even worse depression,” Lisa said during the interview. “It was very difficult.”

She talked about how he refused to take the medicine because he didn’t think he was sick.

Lisa also recalled the time in 2015 when Jake led deputies on a multi-county chase before wrecking his car. When she tried to find a lawyer for him, Jake did not return her calls.

She talked about how painful the situation was, while also describing the moment he called her to say he had been shot in his apartment. Lisa then realized that she was hallucinating.

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Lisa said Jake is currently about 10 months into an 18-month stint in a mental health rehabilitation facility after what she calls a full-blown psychotic breakdown in March 2023 when he turned off his car in the middle of a three-lane road and the police were called.

“He’s doing a lot better than I expected,” she said, adding that he’s “getting a little more social.”

And decades later, Jake is still a fan of the franchise.

“He loves everything new Star Wars things,” she said. “People think Jake hates Star Wars. He loves it.”

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Source: HIS Education