Early life, family, educational background
Former actor Jake Matthew Lloyd was born on 5 March 1989 in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA; he’s also professionally known as Jake Broadbent, and his childhood nickname was Flick. Jake was born to entertainment agent Lisa Flowers Lloyd (née Broadbent) and Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) William Lloyd. He has a younger sister, Madison Lloyd Broadbent who was born on 22 August 1991.
After retiring from acting in 2001, Jake and his family moved from Los Angeles to Indianapolis, Indiana. In 2007, he matriculated from Carmel High School in Carmel, Indiana. Jake then attended Columbia College Chicago where he studied film and psychology for a year before dropping out.
Family’s personal life
In 1999, Madison appeared in “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace” as Princess Ellie in the parade scene. Madison tragically passed away from natural causes on 16 July 2018, when only 28 years old. Jake took his sister’s passing very hard – in a statement released to the public by their mother, she shared, “[his disorder] has been very difficult after the tragic loss of his younger sister, Madison.”
Career
Jake found his fame in the character of young Anakin Skywalker in the aforementioned George Lucas’ “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.” George Lucas specifically chose Jake out of the 3,000 child actors who auditioned to play nine-year-old Anakin, for this first film in the “Star Wars” prequel trilogy.
The film became the second-highest-grossing film worldwide at the box office, surpassed only by 1997’s “Titanic.” Following the film’s release, Jake won the Best Supporting Actor award at the Young Artist Awards. Although the film was a massive box office success, it received overwhelmingly negative backlash from audiences and critics, partly for Jake’s portrayal of young Anakin and Ahmed Best’s performance as Jar Jar Binks – a character infamous for being hated by the Star Wars fandom.
However, that is not where Jake’s acting career began – his debut was in 1996, in four episodes of the medical drama “ER” as Jimmy Sweet, which aired from September 1994 to April 2009 on NBC, the series created by Michael Crichton – a licensed medical doctor and writer. Jake then went on to play Jake Warren in “Unhook the Stars’,’ starring Marisa Tomei and Gena Rowlands, in the drama directed by Nick Cassavetes.
Later that year, he played Timmy/Young Angelo/Ronnie Collins in four episodes of the action television series “The Pretender”, which aired from 1996 to 2000 on NBC.
1996 was actually a very busy year for Jake, as he also played Jamie Langston in the Christmas family comedy film, “Jingle All the Way” starring Arnold Schwarzeneggar and Sinbad, directed by Brian Levant. In “Apollo 11,” Jake played Mark Armstrong, in the television film nominated for a Primetime Emmy after airing on The Family Channel in November 1996. In 2000, Jake appeared as Mike McCormick in his last film, “Madison”, but which was only released in 2005.
By 2001, Jake had made the big decision to retire from acting, brought about by excessive bullying from his classmates, and harassment by the press after appearing in “The Phantom Menace.” .
However, he still attended comic-book and sci-fi festivals during his retirement. In 2012, Jake announced to his fans that he was going to direct a documentary about Tibetan refugees living in India, who had left to escape the Chinese government’s persecution.
Jake reprised his role as a young Anakin Skywalker in five of Lucas Arts’ Star Wars video games. He was also hired by singer Mallory Low to direct a promotional video which starred Daniel Logan, who had portrayed Boba Fett in the film “Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.”
Personal life
In 2012, Jake opened up about his decision to retire acting, and how much he struggled during that time of his life. The reviews about his “terrible” performance in “The Phantom Menace,” haunted the young actor for years to come, resulting in an unhealthy mental health state.
Professionals in the film industry expressed their displeasure for the way the public treated an actor who was merely a child – actor Mark Hamill who portrayed Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy, still shares his anger over how Jake was attacked following the film’s release. Ron Howard – who started out as a child actor and grew into a director, screenwriter, actor and producer – came to the young actor’s defense as well. “Lloyd was only a child, and any faults in his performance were the responsibility of the people who cast him, and of George Lucas for not doing a good enough job of directing him (or giving him good enough dialogue).”
When recounting his early years as an actor, Jake described it as a “living hell.” When he was in school, “Other children were really mean to me. They would make the sound of the lightsaber every time they saw me. It was totally mad.”
During press tours for the film, Jake had to do approximately 60 interviews a day and was drained by the end of them.
In March 2015, police were contacted with claims that Jake assaulted his mother, Lisa Riley. Lisa informed the Indianapolis Metro Police Department that shortly after Jake arrived at his mother’s house, he began verbally berating her before physically assaulting her. Lisa refused to press charges against her son, stating that he is diagnosed with schizophrenia – a mental disorder that causes the patient unable to determine what is reality and behave in abnormal ways. He was not taking his prescribed medication at the time of the incident.
On 17 June 2015, he was arrested under the name Jake Broadbent in South Carolina for the following: driving without a license, reckless driving, skipping a red traffic light and resisting arrest.
Police had to engage in a high-speed chase to catch up with Jake to arrest him. His hearing took place on 22 June 2015 where his bail was set at $10,700. The following day, Lisa released a statement to TMZ wherein she shared his schizophrenia diagnosis and that, “the family plans to try and get him help again […] once he’s released from jail.” Jake’s bail wasn’t paid and so he wasn’t released on bail.
By April 2016, Jake was held in the Colleton County Detention Center for 11 months while awaiting trial. He was then transferred to a psychiatric facility based on his diagnosis. Jake hasn’t done any interviews, been active on social media, or attended any public events in the spotlight since his 2015 arrest.
Jake destroyed all of his Star Wars merchandise and memorabilia as a consequence of his hatred of the film. “I’ve learned to hate it when the cameras are pointed at me,” he shared in an interview.
Lisa added that Jake never watched “The Phantom Menace” anymore because he doesn’t like watching the film. She also said that he blames George Lucas for his fall from grace.
In January 2020, Jake’s family informed the public that he’d moved closer to his family for support, following his official paranoid schizophrenia diagnosis. “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.” Thanking his fans, she concluded, “Jake will continue to make progress with the love and support you continue to show.”
Appearance
Jake stands at 5ft 6ins (1.7m). He has brown hair, hazel-brown eyes and usually sports a beard. More specific information about Jake’s appearance is not public knowledge, as he hasn’t been in the public eye for several years.
Net worth and salary
As of May 2022, Jake’s net worth is estimated at $25,000, the remains from his short career as a child actor. If Jake does have a regular job at the moment, his net worth would most likely be higher.
