Preparing for the Anakin's inevitable transformation meant that in Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Christensen would consciously have to hold back, letting his character's anger and anguish build up to a climax in Episode III.
"It was challenging, because you are cast as this character that is the connective tissue to someone that represents all that is evil," Christensen explains. "So your natural instinct is to try to take him there. George [Lucas] was constantly asking me to pull back from that and to make him someone who is struggling, and someone who allows his frustrations to present themselves in ways that aren't necessarily perceived as evil, but maybe in other ways. The character was more about who he was at that time of his life and Episode III was about changing him and making him evolve into Darth -- which was why I was very excited to get to Episode III and finally get to do that. It was something that I had sort of built up in my head for so long."
Rather than journeying to a darker place in his own psyche, Christensen says that he dug deep into the mind of Vader himself, thinking about what Anakin would do in every crucial decision-making moment.
"As an actor, I usually try to keep my motivation within the context of what my character is going through," Christensen says. "So, I don't think of my dog that died when I was 8 years old and how that made me feel. I try to stay within the psychology of Anakin. It was just really letting his frustrations seep in and how that would affect me."
Christensen also had the benefit of working alongside prolific actors -- Christopher Lee and Ian McDiarmid -- to help him hone his skills as an actor on the set.
"I think I've learned the most, from all the actors I've worked with, from Ian," Christensen confesses. "It was just an eye-opening experience getting to sit in that opera scene with him and listen to him tell that story and watch the subtlety, and everything that he's able to convey within that subtlety. I'd just sit there and shake my head and be like, 'Oh, I'm not supposed to be shaking my head. Whoops!' And, he's such a kind man and is willing to share his wisdom and help you when you ask for it. So, I've learned an awful lot from him."
Since the theatrical success of Episode III, Christensen has noticed that more of his younger fans are now identifying him as the legendary Man in Black rather than the impatient Jedi Padawan that he portrayed in Episode II -- which may make for a rather interesting Halloween.
"Now I've got two characters that people can dress up as," Christensen jokes. "I was expecting a different reaction, to be honest. Kids still are enamored with this hero and I would have thought [Episode III] would have changed how they saw Anakin and maybe they would have been a little shy at first. But it really hasn't changed anything. If anything, they're just more drawn to him. I still get little kids coming up to me wanting lightsaber training and I play along with it. I love it. I stay at home at Halloween now. When my mom tells me that there's someone dressed up as Anakin, I'll go to the door and give them their candy, which is fun."
This story originally appeared in issue #147 of the StarWars.com Homing Beacon email newsletter.
