10 Exact Movie Moments That Killed A Career

7. The Fallen Angel - Jake Lloyd

You can’t help but feel sorry for Jake Lloyd. Thrust into the pop culture spotlight at just ten years of age as Anakin Skywalker in The Phantom Menace, people were outright cruel to this youngster upon Episode I’s release.

To his credit, Lloyd wasn’t all that bad in the role of the future Darth Vader. His Anakin was buoyant, excitable, eager to learn, and shared a fantastic bond with his mother Shmi. The problem here, though, lay in the dialogue that the young actor was tasked with.

For many, the moment that still makes them squirm is the “Are you an angel?” line that Anakin says to Natalie Portman’s Padme. Even just typing those words can cause you to feel a little woozy. From there on out, those who wanted to stamp all over Episode I and Anakin Skywalker had all the fuel that they could possibly need.

Unable to escape the worldwide criticism – and remember, this is a TEN-YEAR-OLD – Jake Lloyd made the decision to officially bring an end to his acting career in 2001 at age 12. In more recent years, Jake has spent time in jail and been diagnosed with schizophrenia, plus had to deal with the death of his younger sister only last year.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.