Ryan Phillippe’s seven-year age gap with Natalie Portman knocked him out of the running to play adult Anakin Skywalker
Hayden Christensen, who is one year apart in age from Portman, ended up landing the role for two films in the Star Wars prequel trilogy
“I think things happen for a reason and it’s easy to make peace with that,” Phillippe said in a recent interview with Variety
Ryan Phillippe nearly wielded the force.
Speaking with Variety ahead of the July release of the I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel, the 50-year-old actor recalled coming quite close to playing adult Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.
However, a seven-year age difference between Phillippe and Natalie Portman, who plays Padmé Amidala throughout the Star Wars prequel trilogy, took him out of the running.
“Being a kid born in the ’70s, I was like, ‘What a dream that would’ve been,’” Phillippe said in the interview.
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Natalie Portman in ‘Star Wars Episode II – Attack of the Clones’
“But I think things happen for a reason and it’s easy to make peace with that,” Philippe added. “Part of what we have to develop as actors is that thick skin that comes along with rejection or maybe things not going the way you wanted in a particular project or potential job. So there’s an element of being able to let go and release and not spend too much time thinking about those things.”
Hayden Christensen, who is one year apart in age from Portman, ended up landing the role of Anakin, who once lured by the Dark Side turns into Darth Vader.
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Ryane Phillippe in ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’
While Phillippe isn’t one of the many actors who have appeared in the Star Wars franchise, he is connected to a memorable horror series thanks to his role in 1997’s I Know What You Did Last Summer.
The Motorheads actor noted he “made the wrong move” in portraying characters like Barry Cox, who is killed off by the end of the original film, because when those films are “resurrected,” he can’t star in the them.
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“I used to think it was cool. I’m like, ‘If I could take a character to their last moment.’ Now, I’m like, ‘What are you thinking? No, you want to live in case there’s more movies to be made,’ ” Phillippe, whose characters in Cruel Intentions and Big Sky are also killed off.
“But it’s cool to see that those films, those projects have endured — that had the impact culturally that they did — that they would want to revisit them. It definitely makes you feel like a dinosaur or aware of your age, but at the same time, it’s a compliment to something that you were a part of that succeeded,” he added.
Read the original article on People
