Star Wars: 7 Perfect Performances & 7 That Sucked

1. Jake Lloyd As Anakin Skywalker

They just can't seem to get Anakin right, can they? Now, it is extremely harsh to be overly critical of a child actor's performance, but young Jake Lloyd was just plain bad in The Phantom Menace. When George Lucas promised the origin of a young Darth Vader, seeing the kid from Jingle All the Way shout 'yippee' multiple times was not what the fans expected.

When making The Phantom Menace, George Lucas was very set on casting a younger actor for the role of Anakin rather a young adult, the likes of which he relied on in his original trilogy for Luke and Leia. Although Lloyd had plenty of boyish charm about him, his acting ability came up short in the film.

He was nominated for an infamous Razzie (Gold Raspberry Award) for Worst Supporting Actor, only being beaten by co-star Ahmed Best for his role as Jar Jar Binks. Like many actors in the prequel trilogy, Lucas' frequently criticised writing didn't exactly help. It's hard to imagine any young actor being able to successfully deliver lines such as ‘are you an angel?' or 'I'll try spinning. That's a good trick'.

What's even worse is that Lloyd suffered intense bullying for his performance in the film at his school and also from fans forcing him to retire completely from acting only two years later in 2001. Since then, Lloyd has been in trouble with the law after multiple arrests and his mother has confirmed he suffers from schizophrenia and spent time in a secure psychiatric facility.

Which other performances belong on this list? Share your own thoughts below in the comments thread.