'Star Wars: Episode 1' Child Star Suffers From Paranoid Schizophrenia, Currently In Mental Health Facility

"Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" child actor Jake Lloyd's mother has debunked rumors that her son hates the franchise and quit acting because of it as she opened up about his mental health struggles.

Lloyd, who played young Anakin Skywalker in the George Lucas movie at 8 years old, has been noticeably absent from the recent coverage surrounding "Phantom Menace," which is celebrating its 25th anniversary in May.

During an interview with Scripps News, his mother, Lisa Lloyd, revealed that her now 35-year-old son was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2008.

According to Lisa, Lloyd is now staying at a mental health rehabilitation facility following a psychotic breakdown in March last year.

She said the former child actor's ordeal began in high school when he started talking about "realities" and couldn't differentiate between them.

Lloyd then went on a downward spiral after he graduated high school and began attending classes at Columbia College Chicago, including allegedly seeing people with "black eyes."

After a series of appointments with therapists and psychiatrists, Lloyd was eventually diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, which Lisa said worsened her son's depression.

Schizophrenia can lead to "hallucinations, delusions, and extremely disordered thinking and behavior that impairs daily functioning," according to the Mayo Clinic.

Lisa shared that Lloyd was initially in denial over his diagnosis, causing him to refuse to see a therapist, quit his medications, and self-medicate with illicit drugs.

In 2015, Lloyd was arrested in South Carolina after allegedly leading officers on a car chase before crashing his car.

Despite Lisa's efforts to get her son out, the former child star went on to spend 10 months in jail before being transferred to a psychiatric hospital.

This was followed by the death of Lloyd's younger sister, Madison, in 2018 at age 26.

Lisa recalled that her son "just couldn't handle" and was unable to process the untimely death of his younger sibling, who appeared as an extra in "The Phantom Menace."

Five years later, Lloyd suffered a psychotic break, during which he stopped and turned off his car in the middle of three lanes and began screaming.

Lloyd was sent to a hospital that same day before being transferred to a mental health rehabilitation facility two months later.

During the interview, Lisa shut down the speculation that the backlash to "Phantom Menace" led to Lloyd's exit from the entertainment industry and contributed to his mental health struggles.

She explained that Lloyd's father's side of the family has a history of schizophrenia.

"It would have happened anyway," Lisa told the outlet. "I believe that it was genetic."

Lloyd's mom also said she "protected him from the backlash" and did not allow him to go online after the prequel film was released in 1999.

"He was just riding his bike outside, playing with his friends. He didn't know. He didn't care," Lisa recalled.

Rather than "Star Wars," Lloyd's parents' divorce and loss of enthusiasm for auditions were to blame for his decision to quit acting, according to his mom.

Lisa shared that Lloyd remains a big "Star Wars" fan and "loves" all the new movies and series, including "Ahsoka" on Disney+.

Despite this, Lisa said Lloyd is unlikely to appear in any "Star Wars" projects anytime soon.

"Jake loved filming 'Star Wars.' He had so much fun," she told Scripps News. "I would love for him to get well enough to be able to do a little bit of something, and I'm sure he would maybe like to do that. He couldn't at this point, but you never know how much he's going to improve. So we'll see."

According to Lisa, Lloyd has been making a lot of progress and is "doing much better" than expected after receiving treatment at the mental health facility.

"Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace" is set to return to theaters for a limited run on May 3.