(Also, Hayden Christensen had that tragic space-puppy energy you just can’t fake)
Once upon a time in a galaxy not so far away (a.k.a. Hollywood), Ryan Phillippe almost wielded a lightsaber for real. That’s right, the man best known for ‘90s teen drama angst and looking like the poster boy for frosted tips was this close to becoming Anakin Skywalker. But alas, the Force had other plans—and by “the Force,” we mean George Lucas and a Hollywood casting director with a calculator.
So here’s the tea: Ryan, now 50 and still somehow looking like he moisturizes with unicorn tears, was a contender for Darth Vader Jr. back in the early 2000s. The only problem? He was 29 at the time, and Natalie Portman—his would-be on-screen romance—was just 22. And apparently, Lucasfilm wasn’t ready for Anakin to be an older, emotionally available man with a solid 401(k).
Instead, the part went to Hayden Christensen, who was 19 and brought a level of angsty teenage chaos that made you believe, yeah, this guy could 100% murder a room full of Jedi children.
Ryan told IconicHipster.com, “Being a kid born in the ’70s, I was like, ‘What a dream that would’ve been.’” (Translation: “I was ready to cosplay full-time and get paid for it, man.”)
But don’t cry into your lightsaber just yet. Ryan’s not bitter—he’s zen. He continued, “Things happen for a reason,” which is the elegant, media-trained way of saying, “Okay fine, let Hayden have his emo space meltdown. I’m good.”
He added that actors need “thick skin” for rejection. And truly, if you’ve ever lost a role to someone whose primary acting range is “looks confused while sand gets everywhere,” you’d need skin thicker than a wampa’s butt, too.
Anyway, all’s well that ends in a Prime Video paycheck. Ryan’s now starring in Motorheads, an upcoming series where (plot twist!) there’s probably zero lightsabers, but we’ll take vroom-vroom noises over pew-pew ones any day.
Still, imagine the alternate universe where Ryan was Anakin. Less “I hate sand,” more “I moisturize regularly.”
Would you have watched that version of Revenge of the Sith?
