a luminous being & a pathetic lifeform

In the prequels he gave his everything, his portrayal of Anakin was incredibly nuanced and he clearly had done his homework (e.g. nailing JEJ’s speech pattern and his vocal cadence, as well as David Prowse’s physical mannerisms). Looking at Hayden you could see exactly what George Lucas meant when he said he wanted someone who had ” that presence of the dark side”. But you could also distinguish the former innocent slave boy, who wanted to be a Jedi and make his loved ones proud. He was Anakin, he was Vader.

It still makes me extremely sad and upset that some fans thought their image of Vader at the time was the only right one. They had their heads too up their asses to see that Anakin/Vader was right there, exactly as George Lucas had written him, both passionate and powerful but also sad and pathetic. And of course there were those who did see it, most of them were just too young at the time/without a platform to express all that awe and outpouring of love, as it was mostly drowned out by the loud, spiteful hate and criticism.

I can’t even imagine the things Hayden had to hear, directly from fans and from the media. It must’ve been so discouraging for a young actor. Heck, he was 24 when RotS came out. 24. And still, after everything, he decided to come back. He could’ve declined when Deborah Chow called him and asked him to return to the franchise, I would not have blamed him.

Some good additions from @mcgregor, well said.

Exactly this. Poor Hayden and Jake Lloyd (a literal child) became the spitbuckets for all the hate and backlash for Anakin’s characterization. The toxic fans couldn’t believe the creator himself was responsible for it. I mean the guy just cast and directed both Hayden and Jake, wrote the lines and even decided what Anakin’s hair was gonna look like but go off, I guess.

It’s like all the interviews/BTS etc with Lucas where he explains Anakin’s character and motives didn’t exist. Some fans still didn’t want to accept that it was the Darth Vader they were seeing in the prequels, but wanted to cling to the idea of an all-powerful, macho and cold villain. In reality, Lucas (and both actors with their portrayals) just made Vader more complex and interesting and I’m glad most of the fans have realized that.

production: no they’ll be able to tell

tennant: who

Robert Lewis, beloved himbo.

Ewan McGregor for IWC (2014)

Some sweet Christopher Robin for @weaponizedwit 🫶🏻