Jake Lloyd, the actor who played young Anakin Skywalker in 1999’s "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace," has shared an update years after revealing that he was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
In a new interview with Variety, Lloyd, 35, said he felt "pretty good" after an 18-month stint in a Southern California inpatient mental health facility. As the outlet noted, he's still receiving care from a different center but is able to come and go as he pleases.
"[I’m feeling] pretty good, considering these 20 years of time that have come to an end," Lloyd said. "I can now accept taking on continued treatment, and therapy, and my meds. Everyone’s been very supportive."
Lloyd revealed that at one point he hit "rock bottom," but it was a necessary step in his recovery. This helped him fully commit to treatment and stick to taking his medication while accepting his diagnosis. Lloyd added that, despite the challenges, a lot of "good things" have come out of the experience.
"I don’t have the time for feeling volatile," he said of taking his medication. "It is very much a cushion."
Lloyd’s mother, Lisa Riley, addressed longstanding speculation in March that the negative reception of "The Phantom Menace" drove her son to leave acting. Instead, she revealed that Lloyd’s exit was linked to his 2008 diagnosis of schizophrenia.
"It would have happened anyway," Riley said. "I believe that it was genetic. And his psychiatrist also agrees that Jake was going to become schizophrenic.
“I protected him from the [‘The Phantom Menace’] backlash," she added. "He was just riding his bike outside, playing with his friends. He didn’t know. He didn’t care. Everybody makes such a big deal about that. And it’s rather annoying to me because Jake was a little kid when that came out, and he didn’t really feel all that stuff because I didn’t let him online."