Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace Child actor Jake Lloyd opened up about his mental health struggles and finally accepted his schizophrenia diagnosis.

The actor spoke with author Clayton Sandell, who served as co-writer Star Wars timelinesand his mother, Lisa Lloyd. Their conversation follows Lloyd’s 18-month stay in a mental health rehabilitation facility after a full-blown “psychotic break” in March 2023, during which he parked his car in the middle of a three-lane road in Southern California.

“Jake got into some trouble in high school,” Lisa Lloyd said Scripps news in March 2024. “He started talking about ‘realities.’ He didn’t know if he was in this reality or another. I didn’t really know what to say.”

According to Sandell, the Anakin Skywalker actor finished his time at the facility a few weeks ago and is now living in a new rehab center where he is still receiving treatment but can come and go as he pleases.

For years, Lloyd had difficulty even acknowledging his schizophrenia diagnosis because of anosognosia, his mother explained. According to the Cleveland Clinic, a neurological disorder occurs when a person’s brain “cannot recognize one or more other health problems.” Now that he has overcome this condition, he can better understand why taking his medication is important.

When the author asked how he felt, he replied: “Quite good, considering that the period of 20 years has come to an end. I can now accept further treatment, therapy and my medication. Everyone was very supportive.”

Although his mother noted that it had been less than 20 years since he was diagnosed, she admitted that it felt that way at times. The star Wars The actor was coherent when he spoke and was eager to talk, but Sandell pointed out that he mixed up some words and got in the way, which his mother said happened when he was tired.

Explaining how he feels when he takes his medication, Lloyd said: “I don’t have time to feel unstable. It’s kind of a cushion.”

Looking back on his life at age 35, the former actor can say his treatment has yielded “good results” after hitting what he called “rock bottom.” He added that this needed to happen so that he could learn to “participate honestly in treatment, honestly take his medications, and honestly live with his diagnosis.”

Lloyd was cast as Anakin when he was 8 years old. The film was released in 1999 and his portrayal wasn’t always well received – and this wasn’t the case Phantom Menace.

For years it was speculated that the backlash contributed to his mental health issues, but his mother told it Scripp news Last year, that wasn’t the case, sharing that his father’s family had suffered from schizophrenia in the past. On the contrary, she noted, Lloyd was actually a fan star Wars and called his experiences with fans “instantly therapeutic.”