In This Biography
Hayden Christensen Biography, Age, Career, Marital Status, Salary and Net Worth
Who is Hayden Christensen?
Hayden Christensen is a popular Canadian actor and producer. He started his career on Canadian television at the age of 13, and later diversified into American television in the late 1990s. Christensen’s early work consists of Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides (1999), Life as a House (2001), and Shattered Glass (2003). He earned recognition for his performance as Sam in Life as a House receiving Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. Hayden also earned critical acclaim for his portrayal of Stephen Glass in the 2003 movie.
He received international recognition for his role as Anakin Skywalker/ Death Vader in the Star Wars prequel trilogy movies, Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith (2005). Christensen then reprised the role for the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) and will also reprise for the upcoming Disney+ series Ahsoka. His honors for these movies consist of Cannes Film Festival’s Trophee Chopard.
Hayden Christensen Career
1993-2005
Hayden made his acting breakout in September 1993, at the age of 12, when he played a supporting role on the German-Canadian television series Macht Der Leidenschaft/Family Passions. The next year, he had a small role in John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness. He then appeared in various movies and television series like Harrison Bergeron, Forever Knight, Goosebumps, The Virgin Suicides, and Are You Afraid of the Dark? from 1995 to 1999.
Christensen received wider recognition while starring in Fox Family Channel’s television series Higher Ground in 2000, playing a teen who has been sexually molested by his stepmother and then turned to drugs in his despair. His critically acclaimed portrayal of a misunderstood teenager in Life as a House (2001) earned him Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations. In addition to the National Board of Review’s award for Breakthrough Performance of the Year. However, his performance did not earn widespread public notice.
In 2002, he made his London theatre debut alongside Anna Paquin and Jake Gyllenhaal in This Is Our Youth. Christensen continued to receive positive reviews for 2003’s Shattered Glass, which tells the true story of journalist Stephen Glass. Glass was discovered to be fabricating stories as a writer for The New Republic and other publications. Hayden later made his Broadway debut when he appeared shortly in a 10-minute play in 2005. He participated in the fifth annual ”24 Hout Plays” benefit, which raises cash for nonprofit groups in the Big Apple in 2005.
Star Wars
Christensen revealed on May 12, 2000, that he would be starring as an adult Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars; Episode III-Revenge of the Sixth (2005). Skywalker was played previously by Jake Lloyd as a child in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace (1999). Prior to director George Lucas picking Hayden, the casting director reviewed about 1,500 other candidates.
Stock footage of him was used in the 2004 DVD-release edition of Return of the Jedi, where he was inserted to take the place of Sebastian Shaw, as the force ghost of the redeemed Anakin Skywalker. This became among the most controversial changes. George wanted Anakin’s inner person to return to who he was before he turned to the dark side. Hayden however insisted this was done without his knowledge, an act that was confirmed by Lucasfilm itself in the featurette ” Return of the Jedi: What has changed?” as seen on the official website to commemorate the 2006 DVDs.
Christensen’s performance in both Episode II and III earned generally mixed reviews from critics. This earned him the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor in both movies. He was then named in both People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People and Teen People’s 25 Hottest Stars Under 25. Hayden received the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for his performance in Episode III.
How old is Hayden Christensen?
Hayden Christensen is aged 41 as of 2022, having been born on April 19, 1981, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He shares his birthday with famous people including Kate Hudson, Ashley Judd, Tim Curry, Jayne Mansfield, Dudley Moore, Joseph Estrada, and James Franco, among others.
Hayden Christensen Family
Who are Hayden Christensen’s parents?
Hayden Christensen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia to David Christensen and Alie Christensen. His father is a Canadian computer programmer and communications executive, while his mother is an American speechwriter. His mother has Swedish and Italian ancestry, while his father is of Danish descent. Hayden spent summers with his maternal grandmother, Rose Schwartz, on Long Island, where he attended the Actors Studio in New York City.
Does Hayden Christensen have siblings?
Christensen was born to his parents into a family of four children. He has three siblings, all actors, older brother Tove Christensen, older sister Hejsa Christensen and younger sister Kaylen Christensen.
Hayden Christensen Education
Christensen attended Unionville High School in Markham, Ontario, where he studied in the Arts York drama program. He also attended the Actors Studio in New York City.
Hayden Christensen Interests
In high school, Christensen was an athlete, playing hockey competitively and tennis on a provincial level. He started off acting by being cast in commercials including for Triaminic cough syrup in 1988, after accompanying his older sister to her agent’s office after she landed a role in a Pringles commercial. Hayden is also into farming after buying a farm near Uxbridge, Ontario in 2007, he then renovated it and set time learning about livestock, crops, and agricultural machinery in 2008. He then collaborated with Canadian fashion chain RW&Co in November 2013, to launch a men’s clothing line inspired by his farm.
Christensen is an avid Toronto Maple Leafs’ fan and performed a public service announcement for Do Something’s Teens for Jeans Campaign in 2008. He also modeled in Louis Vuitton’s advertising and was named the face of Lacoste’s newest fragrance, Lacoste Challenge. Christensen was later featured in RED’s Lazarus Effect Campaign, which is planned to increase awareness of its efforts to fight AIDS in Africa.
Hayden Christensen Partner
Christensen is currently single and not married but was in a relationship, with Jumper co-star, actress Rachel Bilson from 2007 to 2017. They started dating in 2007 and became engaged on December 25, 2008. Despite breaking up in mid-2010, they started dating again after a few months. She then gave birth to their daughter Briar Rose, on October 29, 2014. However, they separated and went apart in September 2017.
Hayden Christensen Kids
Christensen and his ex-girlfriend Bilson have one child together, a daughter Briar Rose Christensen, born on October 29, 2014.
Hayden Christensen Height
Christensen has a well-built, muscular, and athletic body with an impressive height of 6 ft 1 in (1.87 m) and a weight of 74 kg (163 lbs).
2006-2018
2006-2012
Between 2006 and 2007, Christensen starred in Awake alongside Jessica Alba, which tells the story of a man who remains awake but paralyzed during heart surgery. He also co-starred in Factory Girl, alongside Guy Pearce and Sienna Miller. Hayden then co-starred together with Jamie Bell, Samuel L. Jacson, and Rachel Bilson in the movie Jumper, the story of a young man who discovers he has the ability to teleport: the movie was launched on February 14, 2008. Together with Bilson, he co-stars again in the same segment of the movie New York, I Love You.
He appeared alongside Mischa Barton in Virgin Territory, which was launched directly to DVD in North America on August 26, 2008. The movie, based on The Decameron, is about a group of people who escape the BlackPlague epidemic by hiding out in a Tuscan villa in Italy. He began shooting the horror movie Vanishing on 7th Street in October 2009, directed by Brad Anderson, alongside John Leguizamo and Thandie Newton. Hayden appeared in the crime drama Takers alongside Paul Walker and Idris Elba, launched in the United States on August 27, 2010. Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey is the fourth movie in which he stars with Samuel L. Jackson.
Christensen then sued USA Network over allegations that they stole his idea for the TV show Royal Pains in 2010. The suit alleges that he met with the USA to pitch a similar series entitled Housecalls. During the meeting, he alleges, he was never informed that a similar show was in development. Despite a federal judge at first dismissing his lawsuit in 2011, in June 2012, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals reversed this decision and remanded the case back to the district court for more proceedings, in what was considered a legal win for Christensen.
2013-2018
During the Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2013, the Russian company Enjoy Movies revealed the creation of Glacier Films, an alliance company with Hayden and his brother Tove. Over a three-year duration, Glacier Films plans to make 11 ”micro-budget” films costing $1.5M each. The first project, American Heist, starring Christensen, Jordana Brewster, and Adrien Brody, began filming in June 2013. It is a remake of Steve McQueen’s The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery. He then starred in the American-Chinese-Canadian movie Outcast, an action drama, together with Nicholas Cage in 2014.
Hayden later in 2015 starred in the movie 90 Minutes in Heaven co-starring Kate Bosworth. It was directed by Michael Polish and based on the best-selling novel by the same title. Filming started with an unreleased World War II Nazi zombie horror movie called Untot, set to star Christensen in 2015. He was in the movie First Kill opposite Bruce Willis in 2017. Christensen appeared in the Canadian-American romantic comedy Little Italy alongside Emma Roberts in 2018 and was in The Last Man the same year.
Return to the Star Wars franchise
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Hayden went back to the role of Anakin Skywalker in 2019, lending a voice cameo of the character’s voice in Star Wars; The Rise of Skywalker. He also earned a voice credit as Anakin Skywalker jointly with Matt Lanter for the penultimate episode of the last season of the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars entitled ”Shattered”. Although the dialogue used for the episode spoken by Christensen was reused from archival audio from Revenge of the Sith. During Disney Investor Day 2020, it was revealed on December 10, 2020, that he would reprise his role as Anakin Skywalker/ Darth Vader for the Obi-Wan Kenobi limited series on Disney+. It was then reported on October 22, 2021, that he would also reprise the role for the Disney+ series Ahsoka.
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Hayden Christensen Net Worth
Canadian actor and producer, Christensen, has been active from 1993 to the present. He has appeared and starred in numerous films and television series throughout his career and also produced several short films. Hayden has garnered an accumulative net worth of approximately $12 million as of 2022.