Hayden Christensen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia on April 19th, 1981. The young Canadian actor started his career at the age of 13 starring in several TV dramas. His biggest break was a starring role on the Fox Family network's "Higher Ground" (2000). On the series Hayden shows off his acting talent as a teen who was sexually molested by his step-mom, and turns to drugs in despair. Later he appeared in the television movie Trapped in a Purple Haze (2000) (TV), where he co-starred with his friend Jonathan Jackson. On May 12, 2000 Hayden announced that he would be starring as Anakin Skywalker in the next two prequels Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005). The star was chosen by director George Lucas because he felt that Hayden had raw talent and good chemistry with actress Natalie Portman. Lucas stunned the movie world by picking the then-unknown actor after he had turned down such big names as Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonathan Jackson, as well as 400 other candidates.