LogFAQs > #979313993

Giving the most important and iconic role in what was at the time probably one of the most (if not the most) anticipated films of all time - one that a notoriously rabid fanbase had been waiting for for over a decade and a half - to a small child was already an impossibly cruel thing to do to a very young kid.

But to then sabotage the lad further by pairing him up for most of his scenes with the most established and able actor in the cast, which would obviously make him look shit in comparison because he was literally a nine-year-old, and by giving him lines that are so obviously risible ("Are you an angel?" / "Yipee!"), and the lad just never stood a fucking chance.

Whoever played Young Vader was always, always going to be slammed by the fans and the press no matter what (look at the hate Hayden got at the time, even though now everyone loves him) because the shoes and the preconceived image was far too big for anyone to fill. And then to make Young Vader a fucking preteen rather than just a young jedi, which was something nobody wanted...

No matter who was in the role, no matter how well it was done, there was going to be vitriol. And the fact that it was really not done well was just the final bullet in an already fully-loaded round of Russian Roulette.

They did the poor kid dirty for sure, and despite his well-publicised issues, honestly it's to his credit that he came out of it even as well as he did.