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Former Star Wars child actor Daniel Logan shares what he and young Anakin Jake Lloyd went through with fans, and how Lloyd is doing now decades later
Jake Lloyd received death threats and people would camp outside the young actor’s house
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Editor's note: This article contains discussions of bullying, death threats, mental health struggles, and schizophrenia.
Jake Lloyd was 8 years old when he was cast in 1999’s Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. It should’ve been a dream come true, but the aftermath was a nightmare. After the film’s release, some fans attacked Lloyd for his performance as young Anakin Skywalker. We’re not talking about criticism of the movie or acting choices, we’re talking about personal attacks, which escalated to death threats.
Daniel Logan had a similar experience. At age 13 he was cast as young Boba Fett in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Although the two child actors never appeared onscreen together, they became friends on the convention circuit, where they bonded over their lives as child actors in the Star Wars universe. During a spotlight panel at GalaxyCon Richmond, Logan reminisced about his childhood in the spotlight and his friendship with Jake Lloyd.
“When I did my very first convention, Celebration II, they were so worried about me that I had these eight bodyguards that surrounded me, and I walked in the middle of them, and they would protect me. And I didn’t understand what was going on. And meeting Jake, we actually became really close friends and traveled the world together.”
Some of you might be aware of the hatred Lloyd received in the wake of The Phanom Menace. However, according to Logan, it went beyond online comments.
“You start speaking to him and his mom and you realize, he had it the worst out of everyone. He was getting sent death threats. People were trying to find his address so they could camp outside of his house and do harm to him. This was a little child who was 8 years old, and you didn’t realize that just because you were part of this franchise, you didn’t realize how volatile the fanbase could be if they didn’t agree or align with your way of portraying their characters as they see it.”
“I started realizing that he started going through mental issues kind of at an early age, and we didn’t want to voice it because at the time you didn’t voice mental health. People didn’t understand it like they understand it now, and I think having the weight of all of that pressure put upon you at such a young age, and then people being so malicious and threatening, you can’t understand at that age why. Why is this happening to me. Why are these people being like this. It really took a toll on him.”
“He ended up being diagnosed with schizophrenia, and that’s when he withdrew from the convention circuit. I have very close contact with his mom, and I keep saying, ‘I’ll protect him. Maybe we can just do send-ins or something, so that we can help finance his programs, his mental therapies and stuff. She replied to me the other day and said, ‘Jake thinks he doesn’t deserve for the fans to have his autograph and stuff.’”
Logan told Lloyd’s mother that things are different now. Children who grew up watching the prequels are now adults, and they’re attending these conventions, spreading love and positivity for the films and the actors. Logan hopes that one day his friend can experience that love.
“To be able to stick up for my friend, he’s an amazing guy. People will be like, ‘Oh, I walked by him, and he didn’t look happy.’ I think it wasn’t that he wasn’t happy, he’s just afraid a lot of the time. It just put that wall up between him and the fanbase, because of what he went through at a young age. I wish I could’ve been there to say, ‘Hey, we’ll beat them up together! Come on!’ But I wasn’t in the franchise yet.”
“It is hard being a child actor. I’ve been grateful and thankful to Star Wars and Lucasfilm to continue to use me because you have this high at such a young age, and then you’re just dropped, and put back into the world to live your life. Where do you go from having this amazing high to then going to some of the deep dark lows? That’s why I sympathize with Jake a lot. I still love him and I miss him.”
As Logan finished that sentence, the entire audience began to applaud. They weren’t clapping for Star Wars; they were clapping for Lloyd. If I can editorialize for a moment, I am personally disgusted and horrified to learn that people found Lloyd’s address and camped outside of his house after sending death threats. Nobody should ever have to go through something like that, especially a child.
If you or a loved one is struggling, please know you’re not alone. Visit the National Institute of Mental Health website for resources.
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