Hayden Christensen has made the surprising revelation that he believed he would lose the role of Anakin Skywalker to Leonardo DiCaprio.
In a recent interview with Empire, he confessed that he thought his chances were dashed once he heard rumours that DiCaprio was in the running. "That just confirmed my thought that the role would go to another actor", he said. "Through the entire auditioning process I had told myself, from day one, that I wasn't going to get the part. It just wasn't a possibility. And I think that probably helped me a lot, because it just freed me up in a lot of ways. And so it really came as a surprise to me when I got the part".
DiCaprio in an interview with ShortList in 2015 previously revealed that George Lucas offered him the role, but he turned it down, admitting he "just didn't feel ready to take that dive."
In the same interview with Empire, Christensen also admitted to telling his agent: "Is there maybe another role that they're also casting right now that you can put me up for? Because Anakin sort of seems unattainable."
Whether you love or hate the prequel trilogy, it's really difficult to try and imagine another actor in the role of Anakin.