50 Roles for 50 Actors: Dream casting the Star Wars saga

Recasting the Star Wars saga: Jacob Trembley as Anakin Skywalker (child) 

Child actors are tough. Even if they’ve appeared in other projects and rock their audition, they’re still just kids. They don’t yet know the limits of their own abilities, and they might not be able to deliver when it counts.

Something like that may have happened with Jake Lloyd, the child actor who played young Anakin Skywalker in The Phantom Menace. He was a cute enough kid, but a lot of his line readings fell flat. He wasn’t really able to sell the audience on the idea that they were going on a thrilling adventure, even when given lines like this:

It’s hard to blame Lloyd for how his performance turned out—at his age, I’m more inclined to blame the people who cast him. Nonetheless, some blame is called for, so we should take care not to make the same mistakes when recasting the part.

Of the child actors currently making the rounds, Jacob Trembley is impressing critics with his work in Room, where he plays a young boy who’s spent his entire life locked in a small shed with his mother. He provides a vivid, elemental performance. Surely whoever directs a Phantom Menace remake could do something with that level of talent.

There are no guarantees, though. When it comes to child actors, sometimes the best thing you can do is audition a million kids, pick the one who embodies the role best and roll the dice.

Next: The Motherload