Pre-Career

Christensen, the third of four children, was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the son of Alie, a speechwriter for the heads of large companies, and David Christensen, a software program writer and communications executive.  His father is of Danish descent and his mother has Italian and Swedish ancestry. Raised outside Toronto in Thornhill, Ontario, Christensen attended E.J sand Public School, Baythorn Public School and Unionville High School in Unionville, Ontario, Canada. He was an athlete in high school, playing hockey at a competitive level and tennis on a provincial level. Christensen spent summers in Long Island with his maternal grandmother, Rose Schwartz, and attended the Actors Studio in New York as well as the Arts York program for drama at his high school. He was "discovered" when his older sister Hejsa, a former trampoline champion, was shopping around for an agent after she landed a role in a "Pringles" potato chips commercial.

Career

1993–2000

Christensen's first acting role was on the television series Family Passions, which aired on Canadian television in September of 1993, at age of twelve. The following year he acquired a minor role in John Carpenter's "In the Mouth of Madness". From 1995 through 1999, he appeared in several movies and television shows, including Harrison Bergeron, "Forever Knight", "Goosebumps", "The Virgin Suicides", and "Are You Afraid of the Dark?".

He acquired wider notice while starring in Fox's Family Network TV series, Higher Ground in 2000, portraying a teen who was sexually molested by his stepmother, who then turned to drugs in his despair.

2001–2005

While Christensen's critically acclaimed portrayal of a misunderstood teenager in "Life as a House" (2001) earned him Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations as well as the National Board of Review's award for 'Breakthrough Performance of the Year', the performance didn't receive widespread public notice. For his part in the movie, Christensen lost 25 pounds through a special diet. He eventually gained the weight back during the filming for "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith".

His role as Anakin Skywalker (who was previously played by Sebastian Shaw and Jake Lloyd) in "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones" (2002) made him a star. Although his performance was met with mixed reviews by critics (even earning him the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor in both Episodes II and III), he became very popular among audiences, being named in both People Magazine's: 50 Most Beautiful People and Teen People's: 25 Hottest Stars under 25. He suffered some revealing mishaps with his pants during physically active scenes. "My pants in Star Wars were constantly splitting right up the crotch. I had to jump around and do all sorts of things, and the material tore very easily. If I bent my knees too far, I could hear the rip. That was always embarrassing". He went on to receive good reviews for 2003's "Shattered Glass", which tells the true story of journalist "Stephen Glass", who was discovered fabricating stories as a writer for The New Republic, a national political magazine.

More favorable critical response came Christensen's way with the final Star Wars film Revenge of the Sith (2005), in which Anakin converts to the "dark side", finally transformed by the lies of Emperor Palpatine into Darth Vader. Stock footage of Christensen was used in the controversial 2004 DVD release of "Return of the Jedi", where he was inserted over the original actor, Sebastian Shaw. Christensen insists this was done without his knowledge, an act that is confirmed by Lucasfilm itself in the featurette "Return of the Jedi: What has changed?" as seen on the official website to commemorate the 2006 DVDs.

Christensen was the subject of part of London photographer Sam Taylor-Wood's photographic series called Crying Men (2002-2004), which also features 26 other actors in private moments of reflection. He was named one of People's "50 Hottest Bachelors" of 2005 and was chosen by Teen People as one of the "25 hottest stars under 25" in 2005.

2006–present

Christensen will be seen in "Virgin Territory", opposite Mischa Barton. The film, based on The Decameron, is about a group of people who escape the Black Plague epidemic by hiding out in a Tuscan Villa in Italy. He starred in "Awake", with Jessica Alba, which tells the story of a man who remains awake but paralyzed during heart surgery, and in "Factory Girl" — as a character loosely based upon Bob Dylan — opposite Sienna Miller and Guy Pearce. On July 22, 2006 at Comic-Con, Samuel L. Jackson announced that Christensen would be starring with him in the upcoming film "Jumper", the story of a young man who discovers he has the ability to teleport. Christensen joined Jackson, Jamie Bell and Rachel Bilson in the cast. Doug Liman (Mr. & Mrs. Smith) directed the sci-fi thriller which is in post-production and slated for a February 14, 2008 release. Christensen is also slated to star in a movie adaptation of William Gibson's seminal cyberpunk novel, "Neuromancer", set for a 2009 release.


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