Hayden Christensen has revealed some of the secrets from behind the scenes of the new Lucasfilm Star Wars series as he reprises his iconic Darth Vader role in Obi-Wan Kenobi, premiering on Disney+ on Friday, May 27. Hayden was speaking with Star Wars superfan, Inathi Rozani (10) in a revealing interview that put the Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader actor through his paces.
Hayden reveals how the new series is ‘basically one big game of hide and seek’ as well as exposing details on the special Sith garb keeping him cool during filming. He also spilled the tea on why Ewan McGregor is the funniest actor on set and why out of all the characters in the Star Wars universe, Yoda would be his ideal dinner date.
Inathi, who dressed to impress in his Darth Vader costume, challenged Hayden to construct the LEGO Luke Skywalker’s X-wing Fighter whilst quizzing him on his on-set experience. The Darth Vader actor also showed off his lightsaber skills, teaching Inathi how to master his moves with the Hasbro Star Wars Lightsaber.
Interview in full...
Inathi: Right. I've got some questions for you, Hayden.
Hayden: All right.
Inathi: What your challenge is, to finish building that Lego X-wing before I finish.
Hayden: Oh boy. I don't know. I’m pretty good at Lego.
Inathi: Do you wear your suit around the house?
Hayden: Do I wear my suit around the house? If I did, I would never admit to it.
Inathi: So, I'm taking that as a yes. Are you a bit smelly when you take off?
Hayden: [Laughs] It's a very hot and heavy suit and you do sweat a lot. Are you feeling that too?
Inathi: Yeah. Do you wear any special Sith underpants under all of that?
Hayden: Sith underpants? I do wear some special Sith underpants. There's actually a special like cooling suit that goes on underneath the Vader costume that pumps cold water around your body to just help you cool off a little bit.
Inathi: Is it comfortable?
Hayden: It helps a lot. It really does.
Inathi: Which Star Wars character would you like to play the most?
Hayden: You know, I really like the one that I got. I think Anakin, Darth Vader’s a pretty awesome character.
Inathi: Mm. Fair enough. The bloopers and the prequel films are mainly of you just falling over, is it hard to see under the mask?
Hayden: [Laughs]. I did fall a few times, didn't I? You know, sometimes Jedi’s can be a little clumsy.
Inathi: But you're a Sith now.
Hayden: But I'm a Sith now, that's true. Still clumsy I guess.
Inathi: Who's funniest on set?
Hayden: Ewan. Ewan's hilarious; he's got a great sense of humour. He's just always cracking jokes and, yeah, he kept me laughing the whole time.
Inathi: That's Obi-Wan Kenobi. Have you kept anything from set?
Hayden: I did get a few knickknacks. I've got a lightsaber.
Inathi: Oh, can I have your lightsaber?
Hayden: [Laughs]. If I had it with me, I’d let you have it.
Inathi: What's your favourite line from all the films and series?
Hayden: My favourite line, “May the force be with you.” It’s such an iconic line. I remember first time I got to say that one on set. That was a big deal for me, all right.
Inathi: If you could take any Star Wars character out to dinner, who would you take, and which planet would you go to?
Hayden: I’d probably take Yoda out to dinner. I feel like he’s such a wise, wise Jedi. There's a lot you could learn from him. I'd like to go hang out with him on Dagobah.
Inathi: Ooh. What food would you eat?
Hayden: Ooh. I don't know, whatever's available on Dagobah. Do you know what they eat on Dagobah?
Inathi: Uh … No, actually.
Hayden: No?
Inathi: What's going on in this series? Is it basically a big game of hide and seek?
Hayden: It's a lot of that. That’s very clever.
Inathi: Is Ewan a good hider?
Hayden: He’s a really good hider, yeah. But Vader's a good seeker too.
Inathi: Mm. Ewan will probably win. Anyway, have you ever been caught practicing your Jedi or Sith skills on set?
Hayden: You know, I always like just to like swing a lightsaber, so even if I’m not fighting in a scene, I’ll still go step off to the side and I'll practice my lightsaber moves a little bit.
Inathi: Now, which would you prefer, to fly a starfighter or have a lightsaber?
Hayden: I'd rather fly a starfighter. I mean, a lightsaber’s an amazing weapon, but what are you really going to use it for?
Inathi: Well, I would take a lightsaber any day. Because you get two good lightsabers, say red and purple, like Darth Revan. You hold both of them, you look amazing. You can do anything you want to anyone if they don't follow the rules.
Hayden: That’s true. It’s very intimidating when you’re holding a lightsaber.
Inathi: And Obi-Wan used it to cut off your legs, so …
Hayden: That's also true. He did that.
Inathi: Would you let any of your family get an Obi-Wan lightsaber?
Hayden: Yeah, an Obi-Wan lightsaber is awesome. The Vader lightsaber, that's, I think, the coolest lightsaber though, isn’t it?
Inathi: Yeah. Or Darth Maul’s.
Hayden: Darth Maul’s, amazing.
Inathi: Can you teach me any Jedi or Sith lightsaber poses?
Hayden: Yeah, absolutely. All right. So, when you hold your lightsaber you just keep it out in front of you. That’s your ready stance. You want to do something that’s sort of, you know, like a standard Jedi move? You just kind of twirl it in one hand and you let your … You let the lightsaber to come down like this. Yeah? Just like that. And you bring it back around [Makes a lightsaber noise].
Inathi: I think I’m going to be a better Sith than you one day. Can we do a force off?
Hayden: A force off?
Inathi: So, you use the force, I use the force. See who wins.
Hayden: All right.
Hayden: Aargh. Ah, he got me.
Inathi: That was easy. That was way too easy.
Hayden: Oh. You, my friend, are very strong with the force.
Inathi: Thank you.
Hayden: Yeah. Very impressive.
Inathi: I thought better of you.
Hayden: [Laughs]. You thought better of me?
Inathi: I thought you could do much better.
Hayden: Yeah? I’ve got a little rust I’ve got to shake off.
Inathi: Have you ever flown an X-wing? Maybe not in the film series, but have you ever flown one maybe in your own time?
Hayden: I've never flown an X-wing before. I’ve flown a real plane before though.
Inathi: So, you’ve got your plane license?
Hayden: I actually never got my pilot’s license, but I was taking lessons.
Inathi: Oh, OK. Still not as good as an X-wing.
Hayden: I agree.
Inathi: Have you ever tried to get revenge on Obi-Wan for what he did to your legs?
Hayden: [Laughs]. That’s what this show is all about.
