Is the kid from Jingle All the Way Anakin Skywalker?

Arnold Schwarzenegger's Christmas classic, Jingle All The Way, came out way back in 1996, while Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace first graced our screens (for better or worse) in 1999. However, its taken until now for some people to spot a key detail that links the two seemingly unconnected movies.

In the former, child actor Jake Lloyd played young Jamie Langston, a kid who was dying to get his hands on a Turbo Man action figure for Christmas - but little did he know that one of the characters he was soon to play would grow up to be about as far from a superhero as it's possible to be.

Credit: 20th Century Fox

That's because Lloyd went on to star as Anakin Skywalker, the promising young lad in The Phantom Menace who would eventually go on to become Darth Vader.

Despite all the time that has passed since both films were released, fans are still shocked at the revelation.

He may have had early success as an actor, but Lloyd has since revealed that his life after Star Wars was anything but happy. In fact, the child star was so affected by his early fame that he vowed to quit acting forever.

In an interview with The Daily Mail, Lloyd revealed that he'd suffered at the hands of bullies after appearing in the film.

Credit: 20th Century Fox

He said: "Other children were really mean to me.

"They would make the sound of the lightsaber every time they saw me. It was totally mad."

He also recalled how hectic life became around the time of the movie, saying that he was often called out of class to do interviews.

"My entire school life was really a living hell - I had to do up to 60 interviews a day."

Lloyd felt so much anger towards the film that he destroyed all of his Star Wars memorabilia.

"When you have something like that, there's a lot of expectations for it to meet the standards of the public - and I don't think George did that," he said.

"For me to go back and watch it now would be kind of creepy."

The 28-year-old has since left Hollywood and only makes odd appearances at fan conventions now and then.

However, Lloyd did hit the headlines again in 2015, when he was taken into custody for reckless driving, failure to stop and resisting arrest after plowing his car into a tree following a police chase.

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IT’S been 25 years since classic Christmas film Jingle All The Way hit our screens.

The festive comedy - which saw audiences flood cinemas in 1996 - saw Arnold Schwarzenegger try and get his hands on a Turbo Man action figure for his son, played by Jake Lloyd, on Christmas Eve.

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It resonated with parents across Britain who faced their own real-life horrors of holiday toy sell-outs as character Howard was left in despair looking for the iconic children's toy.

Actor Jake Lloyd, who played Arnie’s despairing child Jamie, was thrust into the Hollywood spotlight thanks to the success of the film.

After the cult movie wrapped, he went on to play the young Anakin Skywalker in George Lucas’ 1999 film, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

But since then, the formed child star has rarely been seen after taking a step back from the silver screen, and finding himself in trouble with the law in his 20s.

Jake retired from acting in 2001, saying that he was being bullied by his classmates as well as finding it too stressful doing up to 60 interviews a day when he was so young.

He told The Daily Beast at the time: “I’ve learned to hate it when the cameras are pointed at me. When you have something like that there’s a lot of expectations for it to meet the standards of the public and I don’t think George [Lucas] did that.”

While Jake continued to make small appearance at comic book festivals, last posing for photos on a red carpet in 2011, he stuck by his decision to stop acting entirely.

The star took part in a 2012 documentary highlighting the Tibetan refugees in India, and turned his plight towards charity work.

However, Jake hit the headlines in 2015 when he was arrested for reckless driving, driving without a licence and resisting arrest in his American hometown.

Reports cited that the police pursued Jake for 40kilometres after he failed to stop for a red light in Charleston, South Carolina, before he lost control of the car and drove through a fence.

His mother Lisa explained to the media at the time that Jake had been suffering form schizophrenia and the incident was brought on when he failed to take his medication properly.

Jake spent 10 months in prison for his crimes before he was transferred to a psychiatric unit in April 2016 for help with his mental illness - with no set release date.

In 2018, news broke that Jake's younger sister Madison had tragically died in her sleep aged 26, delivering a "shattering" blow to the former actor and his family.

Mum Lisa released a statement about the star's wellbeing in 2020, explaining that it had been "difficult" for Jake to come to terms with the loss and deal with his mental illness.

"We would like to thank everyone for their kind words, their support, and goodwill. Jake has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, but unfortunately he also has a symptom called anosognosia which causes a lack of insight into his illness," the statement read.

"This only adds to the struggle he faces, which has been very difficult after the tragic loss of his younger sister, Madison," the statement continued.

"He has moved closer to his family and we are all working hard to help him with this. He is still a kind and caring person and we hope to have him back to his fun and entertaining self as soon as possible. Jake will continue to make progress with the love and support you continue to show."

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