THRILLED TO BE ‘EVIL’ Actor Christensen surprised & pleased at return as Darth Vader
Hayden Christensen thought he’d taken his final breaths as Darth Vader.
The actor, who depicted Anakin Skywalker’s transformation to the villainous Vader in the “Star Wars” prequel movies, never expected to return to a galaxy far, far away — before reprising the role more than 15 years later in the new “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series.
“I really thought that was kind of the end of my journey,” Christensen told the Daily News. “I had an amazing experience working on the prequels and was so fortunate to get to be a part of those films, but when we finished, I thought that was it, so coming back was quite a surprise.”
“Obi-Wan Kenobi” is set 10 years after the final film in the prequel trilogy, 2005’s “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith,” which ended with Obi-Wan badly injuring Vader, his former apprentice, in a lightsaber duel.
Vader’s presence has loomed large throughout the first four episodes of “Obi-Wan Kenobi” — now streaming on Disney+ — as he pursues the reclusive Jedi Master for revenge in a quest to eradicate the remaining Jedi.
Christensen, 41, physically portrays Vader on the show, while James Earl Jones voices the character as he did in the original “Star Wars” films.
“It’s an exciting time period to explore that hasn’t really been explored before,” Christensen said. “Vader’s very consumed by all of these negative feelings and emotions and all of his anger that is fueling his darkside abilities.”
Christensen says it felt “incredible” to put the Vader suit back on for “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and found he was able to quickly tap back into the brooding character’s emotions. “The preparation on this was pretty extensive. I did my character work, and just getting back into that mindset, but the physicality of the character has obviously changed so much,” the Canadian-born Christensen said. “That sort of required a lot of effort to, one, put on some size so I could fill out the suit a bit more and, two, just get the movement down,” he continued. “I got to put the suit on a little bit at the end of ‘Episode III,’ but I wasn’t moving around that much. It’s a different ballgame when you’ve got to walk.” Christensen debuted as the angst-filled Anakin in the 2002 movie “Attack of the Clones” before diving deeper into the character’s dark journey in “Revenge of the Sith.” The new series served as a reunion for Christensen and actor Ewan McGregor, who portrayed Obi-Wan in the prequel movies and now stars in and executive-produces the show.
“The first time I saw Ewan on set, on my first day, and getting to reunite as these characters was a profoundly special moment,” Christensen said. “These characters and this franchise mean a lot to Ewan and I, and getting to step back into this world is a just big deal for both of us.”
“Obi-Wan Kenobi” is the third live-action “Star Wars” series on Disney+, following “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett.”
The fifth episode of “Obi-Wan Kenobi” premieres Wednesday, with the finale set to arrive June 22.
Christensen is excited for audiences to experience the full force of the series’ conclusion.
“I can’t say much,” Christensen said, “but I think we’re gonna have a strong ending for sure.”
We have only seen the first two public hearings of the House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the United States Capitol, but these hearings have changed everything. Powerful new evidence, plus a tight and compelling presentation of the astounding facts, make abundantly clear that Donald Trump engaged in a criminal conspiracy to overturn a free and fair election.
It’s now beyond apparent that, when the hearings are done, the committee must act — and formally refer Trump for criminal prosecution. Only by taking that next step can the committee be sure that it has done everything in its power to prevent the former president and others from repeating his attack on American democracy in the future.
Watching evidence of the violent crowd hunting for Nancy Pelosi and Trump musing that Mike Pence deserved to be hanged by the mob of his supporters is powerful support for the conclusion that he sanctioned this violent coup attempt. Video of the perpetrators saying they were there because Trump asked them to be builds that case further. Combined with everyone from Trump’s Justice Department to his chief of staff to even Sean Hannity making clear in stark terms that there was no significant electoral fraud supports the conclusion that Trump knew he lost.
Factually, the evidence is overwhelming that Trump and members of his inner circle had a plan, and acted on it, to prevent Congress from certifying the Electoral College results. That appears to be a violation of a federal law that makes it a felony to conspire to obstruct an official proceeding.
It is well-documented that Trump worked personally and directly with one of his lawyers, John Eastman, to craft a strategy to try to steal a second term. Not only did Trump and Eastman push state legislators to override the certified election results in their states and appoint pro-Trump electors, but they also pressured then-Vice President Mike Pence to undermine the will of the people by rejecting electors from seven states Trump lost, or delaying the count.
Trump’s scheme with Eastman is in many ways the tip of a very large iceberg. Lest we forget, there is also Trump’s phone call to Brad Raffensperger demanding he “find” 11,780 votes, Trump’s draft Executive Order to seize voting machines, and the machinations used by Trump, former Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Clark and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to weaponize the Justice Department to publicize unsubstantiated claims of election fraud — machinations that likely violate another federal law that prohibits conspiring to defraud the United States.
The illegality here is astounding, so much so that if this had happened in any other country, our State Department would surely have denounced it as an attempted coup d’etat.
It has been reported that the Jan. 6 Committee has internally debated whether to make a criminal referral for fear of the committee’s investigation being dismissed as political, or somehow casting a shadow over the Justice Department’s investigation and potential prosecution. These concerns are understandable; the criminal prosecution of a former president should always be an option of last resort and should never be encouraged for political reasons. But in the context of a clear effort to disrupt the peaceful transition of power and deny the American people a meaningful vote, failure to take every step to ensure accountability and prevent recurrence is itself an unacceptable political act.
One of the most powerful moments so far in the hearings came when former Attorney General Bill Barr — a man who would seemingly do anything to advance Trump’s agenda — testified in a deposition that he told Trump multiple times that there was no truth to allegations of fraud and that we cannot live in a world where the incumbent president stays in power based on a lie of electoral fraud. His acting deputy attorney general, Richard Donoghue, said Trump’s plan amounted to nothing less than “the United States Justice Department meddling in the outcome of a presidential election.”
Uncovering proof that the former president tried to overturn the 2020 election and then not referring that to the Department of Justice would reinforce the belief of a majority of Americans that Congress is dysfunctional, unable to act even in the face of an existential threat to American democracy. Not referring these likely crimes would lead to further collapse in America’s faith in government that could lead American voters to give up on democracy.
The Committee must continue these devastating hearings and then should act decisively in a bipartisan way to refer Donald Trump for criminal prosecution. They, and then the Justice Department, must take the steps necessary to protect our democracy from all enemies, foreign and domestic. Including Donald J. Trump.
Bookbinder is president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.