Hollywood AHC: "Flip" Hayden Christensen and Leonardo DiCaprio's reputations

In anticipation of the Rogue One movie, as well as DiCaprio's turning down of the Anakin role I'm making this challenge.

Your goal in this alternate world is create a scenario where Hayden Christensen is one of the best actors of Hollywood to the point of winning an Oscar and Leonardo DiCaprio, on the other hand, is generally seen as a bad actor on the level of OTL Hayden Christensen back in the Star Wars prequels.

I think DiCaprio accepting his role as adult Anakin in Episode II is a good start.
 

shiftygiant

Gone Fishin'
I think DiCaprio accepting his role as adult Anakin in Episode II is a good start.
DiCaprio was already an established Actor with major award wins and nominations under his belt, atop major commercial success, luxuries Christensen didn't have, who had only one noteworthy movie that came out a year before Episode II. DiCaprio's career would take a hit but he'd recover easily enough. Christensen on the other hand would have a pretty decent career trajectory; nothing big, but Life as a House got him recognised to an extent and he'd probably end up playing more roles in the vein of that.
 

Insider

Banned
Since DiCaprio was an established actor already, his voice would have more to say on the plan then newbee Hayden's. Episode II could a decent movie, but suffered from director indecision. They could make a movie about a boy who grows up trying to be good, but his instincts and genes say otherwise. They could make one, about valourus knight corrupted by lust and forbidden love. They could finally make a movie about a wonder kid, who is out of control because his talents.
They instead chose to make a movie about man-child who, because universe refuses to line up before him, lets out his frustration by bashing various people and objects with his long, shiny stick (Captain Freud, are you aboard?).

One could hope that DiCaprio could influence director into choosing one of the former. Or failing this, go full Eric Cartman "s*** you guys, I'm going home"
 
with some of his movies, I think George went back and forth on whether to create a "family" film.

Not sure this was always a productive tension.
 
The problem with Episode II wasn't so much Hayden's acting but the awful dialogue he was saddled with. There's a quote from him along the lines of "This is pretty terrible stuff, but it's George Lucas's vision and it's my job as an actor to stick to that vision"

The ghost of Lawerence Oliver could've been cast as Anakin and it wouldn't have helped.
 
The biggest issue is that Leo is a very skilled actor with a ton of range and enough charisma that he has instant star power. Hayden is merely a decent actor who never really had a good public persona. In order to flip this you'd have to alter who they are as people rather than what movies they're in.
 
I actually thought Christensen was fine in Shattered Glass. The biggest thing going for him if he doesnt do Star Wars is that he gets to learn his craft in more forgiving environments. And by the time he gets a blockbuster, he has enough skill and experience to mold shitty lines or work with the director so that its not so bad.

Leo would be awesome as Anakin but he was too big and too old by then. Lucas generally preferred actors that werent bigger than the movie, at least early on. It would have killed Leo's career though. Presumably he doesnt star in "Gang's of New York", "The Aviator", "Catch Me if You Can" and "The Departed". That's an impressive run of movies.

Heath Ledger would have been perfect. Right age. Think the arrogance he showed in "10 things I Hate About You" with the agony in "Monster's Ball".
 
Heath Ledger would have been perfect. Right age. Think the arrogance he showed in "10 things I Hate About You" with the agony in "Monster's Ball".

Heath Ledger probably would have made a solid Anakin. I've often thought that James Franco also probably would have been a good choice. His performance as Harry Osborne in the Sam Raimi Spiderman trilogy had strong echoes of Anakin Skywalker.
 
Top