Star Wars Child Star Jake Lloyd Shares Schizophrenia Health Update

Jake Lloydwho is best known for playing the young Anakin Skywalker in 1999’s Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menacehas offered an update on his diagnosis of schizophrenia.

In an interview with Clayton Sandell issue through Subscription On Wednesday, January 1, Lloyd, 35, shared that it was “pretty good, considering these 20 years of time that have passed.” He revealed in late 2024 that he is currently living in a rehabilitation center after completing an 18-month stay at an inpatient mental health facility in Southern California.

Lloyd shared that, along with schizophrenia, he was diagnosed with anosognosia. According to the Cleveland Clinicanosognosia is a neurological condition that causes a person’s brain to not recognize their health conditions, often causing patients to avoid or resist treatment.

“I can now accept receiving ongoing treatment, therapy, and my medication. Everyone has been very supportive,” shared Lloyd, describing how he feels when taking his medication. “I don’t have time to feel volatile. It’s very much a cushion.”

Lloyd was only 8 years old when he was cast as young Anakin Skywalker Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace. According to the former actor, his experience with Star Wars has been generally positive.

“The experience I’ve had with the fans is immediately therapeutic,” he shared. “Right now, it’s still therapeutic. It is useful for people and healthy. It’s not something I would shy away from.”

He added that he still has fond memories of his time doing the Phantom Menace. “I really appreciate the time it’s taken us,” Jake said. “I’m very appreciative.”

Jake’s mother, Lisa Lloydto Sandell, “Jake is actually getting better than he was. It is a great relief for me and the rest of his family. We are all delighted that he is doing as well as he is, and that he is working very hard on it. We appreciate that.”

There was Jake diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2016 after a 10 month stint in prison. In early 2024, Lisa had spoken about Jake’s mental health difficulties and revealed that he had been admitted to a mental health rehabilitation facility in March 2023 after suffer a psychotic break.

“Jake started having some trouble in high school,” Lisa explained in March 2024, recalling the first time she noticed a change in Jake’s personality. “He started talking about ‘reality.’ He didn’t know if he was in this reality, or a different reality. I didn’t quite know what to say about that.”

After he was accepted into the inpatient program, Lisa shared that Jake was “doing much better than expected.” She shared, “He’s relating to people better and becoming a bit more social, which is really nice. It’s like getting more of the old Jake back, because he’s always been super social until he became schizophrenic.”

Speaking to Sandell in 2024, Jake shared that he loves all the new Star Wars media that has been released in recent years, including the new Star Wars: Ahsoka series on Disney+.