Life has not been easy for Jake Lloyd. He's now 30-years-old, but he had just turned 10 when Star Wars: The Phantom Menace hit theaters in 1999, showing him in the role of young Anakin Skywalker. The movie disappointed many fans of the original Star Wars trilogy and young Jake was one of the many stars to be bullied and harassed. However, he does have a lot of fans in his corner, and his mother Lisa Lloyd shared an update on his current battle with paranoid schizophrenia.
Here's the update Jake Lloyd's mother Lisa shared with Geek News Now:
We would like to thank everyone for their kind words, their support, and goodwill. Jake has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, but unfortunately he also has a symptom called anosognosia which causes a lack of insight into his illness. This only adds to the struggle he faces, which has been very difficult after the tragic loss of his younger sister, Madison. He has moved closer to his family and we are all working hard to help him with this. He is still a kind and caring person and we hope to have him back to his fun and entertaining self as soon as possible. Jake will continue to make progress with the love and support you continue to show.
Jake's younger sister Madison reportedly died in her sleep in 2018 at age 26. Understandably, Lisa Lloyd said it was "shattering" for the family. As for anosognosia, here's how the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) defines it:
When we talk about anosognosia in mental illness, we mean that someone is unaware of their own mental health condition or that they can’t perceive their condition accurately. Anosognosia is a common symptom of certain mental illnesses, perhaps the most difficult to understand for those who have never experienced it.
It's been a rocky road to this point for Jake Lloyd. Mark Hamill said he's still mad at Star Wars fans and critics for how they treated the young boy when the prequels came out. Jake quit acting back in 2001 when he was around 12, but his mother said he started showing signs of schizophrenia when he was around 19. In early 2015, he allegedly assaulted his mother but she didn't press charges, saying he was off his medication at the time.
Just a couple of months later, Jake Lloyd was arrested in South Carolina on charges of reckless driving, driving without a license, and resisting arrest for failing to stop at a red light and launching a high-speed police chase. He was eventually transferred from jail to a psychiatric facility, per a 2016 TMZ report.
Hopefully Jake Lloyd is now on the right path and will continue to make progress with his family. He's no longer an actor, but he'll always be part of the Star Wars galaxy, and there are far more fans out there rooting for him now than haters during the prequels era. Stay strong, man.
