Jake Lloyd on AllMovie

Jake Lloyd became the screen's most prominent wee moppet when he was cast as the young Darth Vader in George Lucas' Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. The first of the long-awaited Star Wars prequels, the 1999 film proved to be extremely popular, duly thrusting its hitherto-unknown young star into the celebrity stratosphere. Hailing from Fort Collins, Colorado, where he was born March 5, 1989, Lloyd got his big break when he was cast as Arnold Schwarzenegger's son in Jingle All the Way (1996). More recognition followed when he appeared as Marisa Tomei's son in Nick Cassavetes' Unhook the Stars (also 1996). Thanks to the success of The Phantom Menace, Lloyd's face soon became visible everywhere, adorning products ranging from action figures to thermoses.