Hayden Christensen’s three favourite movies: “Probably at the top of the list”
Hayden Christensen, just the name alone is enough to strike fear into the hearts of moviegoers, for he is and always shall be infamous for his performance as Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels.
Instead of the origin story of one of the greatest villains in cinematic history, fans got to watch a fairly wet teenager with floppy hair moan about sand and not being able to get his Jedi rocks off. It was not what people had been waiting nearly two decades for.
There are some people who have a soft spot for him, though. The prequels as a whole have undergone a major reevaluation in recent years – especially when compared to the mess Disney made with their ‘sequel’ trilogy – and Christensen has been part of that. His career hasn’t been restored to its pre-Revenge of the Sith heights, but Star Wars fans are now inclined to look back on his time as Anakin a little more kindly. He’s even returned to the character a few times in the Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka TV series. Who’d have seen that coming 20 years ago?
Back when the young Canadian was first cast in George Lucas’ extended toy commercial, fans were desperate to know more about him. He had won praise for his performances in Life as a House and Shattered Glass, arguably his best film, but what did the future Sith lord enjoy watching during his downtime? During an interview with Star Wars Insider in 2000, Christensen revealed some of his favourite films.
“The Princess Bride is probably at the top of the list,” he said, “Living in Oblivion. And Without Limits, I like that movie a lot. It’s with Billy Crudup—it’s the Steve Prefontaine story. They made two of them, and it’s the good one.”
Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride from 1987 really needs no introduction. This enduring adaptation of William Goldman’s novel is still a family favourite generations after it first hit cinemas. It has also been responsible for introducing the word ‘inconceivable’ into the lexicons of millions of people.
Living in Oblivion is much less well-known. It’s a satirical black comedy starring Steve Buscemi as an independent filmmaker pushed to his limits. It’s perhaps most notable for being the film debut of Peter Dinklage, who plays a dissatisfied actor tired of constantly playing little people.
As Christensen put it, his last choice was Without Limits, one of two well known films about champion runner Steve Prefontaine. A gifted long-distance athlete, Prefontaine drew plenty of press for his results and charisma, and was killed in a car crash just before the 1976 Olympics.
In Without Limits, he is played by Billy Crudup, while Donald Sutherland plays his coach (and future Nike co-founder) Bill Bowerman. One year earlier, another film about the runner, this time simply titled Prefontaine, also hit screens. This one starred Jared Leto in the title role and, in Christensen’s opinion at least, wasn’t as good.
A classic fantasy adventure, an experimental comedy, and a hard-hitting sports biopic, that’s quite the varied selection; one that proves just how immersed Christensen was in the world of movies at the time.
