Who is Hayden Christensen, when did the Star Wars star date Rachel Bilson from The OC and does he like sand?
HE first shot to fame in the Star Wars Prequel trilogy as the tragic hero Anakin Skywalker.
HE first shot to fame in the Star Wars Prequel trilogy as the tragic hero Anakin Skywalker.
But Hayden Christensen is so much more than Ewan McGregor's friend and nemesis. Here's what we know about him.
Who is Hayden Christensen?
Hayden was born on April 19, 1981, in Vancouver. The Canadian national has ancestry that lies in Denmark, Sweden and Italy.
He was one of four children and during his formative years he starred on the high school hockey team.
The future star developed a passion for performance and acting when he visited his Aunt Rose on Long Island, New York.
It was here at he attended the Actors Studio in New York City, and he went on to study at the Arts York drama programme in Ontario.
He got his first acting gigs in commercials, inspired by his sister who won a role in a Pringles ad.
When did Hayden play Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars?
It was announced back in May 2000 that Hayden would be starring as Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and its sequel, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.
Supposedly, George Lucas and his crew auditioned over 1,500 actors before settling on Hayden - according to Lucas himself, he chose Hayden because he had the "presence of the Dark Side".
Although both of these films sometimes see criticism, anyone who hasn't fallen to the Dark Side will know that the Prequels are fantastic and that is no small part down to Hayden's presence as Anakin.
Attack Of The Clones was for many their first experience of Hayden as an actor, and was finally a glimpse into what Darth Vader was like before he became the villain we came to know in the Original Trilogy.
This iteration of Anakin was head-over-heels in love with Natalie Portman's Princess Amidala and his power with the force was never truly understood in this film.
Revenge Of The Sith, however, allowed Hayden to fully explore the power of the Dark Side and saw him execute the notorious Order 66 and ultimately become Darth Vader.
Does Hayden like sand?
Star Wars is known for legendary lines like when Darth Vader told Luke in Empire Strikes Back: ";No, I am your father."
But the best line, and most loved by Hayden fans, is Anakin's passionate rhetoric about sand.
While speaking with the woman he loved, Padme Amidala, he riffs: "I don't like sand. It's coarse, and rough, and irritating, and it gets everywhere".
Hayden was asked about sand in an interview in 2017, wherand settled the situation once and for all - he does not like sand.
More Star Wars news
How did he meet Rachel Bilson and when did the couple split up?
Hayden met Rachel Bilson on the set of Jumper, a sci-fi movie he starred in after his Star Wars gig was over.
They started dating in 2007 and got engaged in late 2008. Although the couple had a brief split in 2010, they were bag together just a few short months later.
The couple have a child together, Briar Rose, but sadly they broke up in September 2017.
When is Soccer Aid?
Hayden will be taking part in Soccer Aid 2018 for the Rest of the World XI.
The star joins Usain Bolt's side and it's hoped that he will bring a little force power with him to help his side overcome England.
Soccer Aid takes place on Sunday 10 June, 2018.