How I got into Star Wars

The story of how I got into Star Wars is pretty interesting, and quite different from that of most people. You see, I didn't actually grow up with Star Wars in my life. Nobody in my family is a fan and because of this, we didn't own any of the movies and never watched them. And while I was of course aware of the franchise, I didn't actually know all that much about it. I just knew some character names and what they looked like - Luke Skywalker, Yoda, Princess Leia, Han Solo... and, of course, Darth Vader.

For example, I had no idea that Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker were the same person. I originally assumed that Anakin being Luke's father was a plot hole. Yeah, that's how bad it was. Quite tragic, isn't it? And there's more. Basically, my entire perception of this character was completely wrong, despite his lasting popularity and iconic pop culture status. More on that later.

A girl's life

Growing up, I was (and still am) a "girly-girl". This did not help my perception of Star Wars at all at the time. Yes, it's true that my family doesn't care about the franchise, but another part of it was that when I was little, I did not like most "boys' media". This changed as I got older; I am by no means a "tomboy" now and I never will be, but my "boys have cooties"-phase ended decades ago. Nowadays I judge something by its quality first and foremost. I have also gotten better at appreciating things that aren't "for me"; when I can still see merit in something, it is worthwile to me, even if it's not my thing.

This had definitely opened up a "new world" of possibilities for me, and I started liking things that I would've never liked before. I've also started getting into activities that I considered "out of scope" (just look at this website - making websites isn't new for me, but writing JavaScript code was!). But enough about that. The point is, along the way, girly ol' me started thinking about Star Wars. Why?

Because of him. Because of Anakin/Vader.

Discovered depth

As I've said before, I didn't know that much about Star Wars when I was younger, and I thought Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader were two different people. I only found out they were the same person once I, on a curious afternoon, wanted to find this out once and for all and decided to Google it. It must've been around 15 years ago or so as of writing (March 2026). I then also realized that this was what the Prequels were about - the "death" of Anakin Skywalker, and the birth of Darth Vader.

While this discovery didn't suddenly make me a Star Wars fan (it took me quite a few more years before that happened), it did intrigue me. I had this incorrect perception of Darth Vader as a traditional, "muahaha"-type villain, who was pure evil and had no redeeming qualities. I also thought he was the franchise's "big bad". (Now I know I got the wrong guy; both of these traits apply to Emperor Palpatine - who is my second favorite Star Wars character, fun fact. Yes, I love me some good villains!)

But no. Darth Vader was once known as Anakin Skywalker, and he used to be a Jedi before his tragic turn to the Dark Side. I'm not going to ramble on too much on this page about why I love this character so much (I have a separate page for that), but the fact that this character is what got me into Star Wars in the first place should tell you a lot.

Boys don't, in fact, have cooties

Let's go back a bit in time, to my teen years. Yes, I'm aware I'm not writing in chronological order for now, but it works better this way (trust me). The reason for this is because this paragraph isn't directly related to Star Wars, but it still kind of is.

I must've been about 13 years old. Back in those days, I watched a lot of "trash TV"; I'm talking garbage like "VH1: All Access". A lot of "celebrity gossip shows", basically. Looking back, it's quite embarrassing, and I've long since stopped watching TV altogether. I don't even know why I liked this crap so much; I blame my young age and poor understanding of the world at the time.

But the first "seeds" of me liking Anakin/Vader were actually planted here, even if it didn't make me a Star Wars fan. Because who were they talking about on this trashy gossip TV show? That's right - Hayden Christensen. At the time I didn't even know he was in Star Wars (my rock was very big, if you couldn't tell), let alone that he played Anakin Skywalker. But um, remember how there was a point when I realized that boys don't in fact have cooties? Well, I first started realizing that around age 10, and I was around 13 around this time - a teenager. The time when many people develop their first crushes.

No, Hayden Christensen wasn't actually my first overall crush. My first celebrity crushes were actually Daniel Radcliffe and Elijah Wood. (Both of these crushes have since waned, although I do still think Elijah has beautiful eyes. He's no Hayden though, that's for sure.) Again, this didn't make me a Star Wars fan; they either didn't mention he was in the movies, or they did and I didn't pay attention (because I was too captivated by his beautiful face. There, I admit it!).

An "old flame"

The truth is, at the time I had never actually watched a single movie with Hayden in it, so my crush on him essentially went away for a while, and he was no longer on my mind. I had mostly forgotten about him. Well, until I started thinking about this Darth Vader guy more and more.

Obviously, along the way I did find out that Hayden played Anakin. I can vaguely remember thinking, "hah, that's funny, I remember thinking he was cute when I was 13". And for a while, that was it, until...

I don't really know how to explain it properly, perhaps. But without going into too much detail, over the years I discovered that there's a certain archetype of male character that I really like. And Vader/Anakin fit right into that.

And I wanted more of that type of content. I wanted more of those types of characters.

And of course, I remembered Hayden, too. "Is this fate?" Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But it's quite interesting regardless.

Let's talk about the movies themselves, shall we?

The Chosen One

When I first got into Star Wars (finally, at age 33! Can you believe it?), I started with the "classics" - the Original Trilogy. I'm going to be honest - it wasn't exactly "love at first sight". Granted, part of it was due to some pretty nasty technical issues when I was trying to get "A New Hope" to play. And when the movie finally worked, it was already quite late and I had gotten tired. The only thing on my mind was, "just get it over with!". Because of that, I couldn't enjoy the movie to its full potential, which in retrospect was kind of a waste. I hope to do a rewatch someday of all six movies, and hopefully I'll enjoy "A New Hope" more then. Because it's by no means a bad movie, I was just groggy and tired when I watched it.

And truthfully, because of my bad mood at the time, I was considering ending my Star Wars adventure right then and there. But I'm glad I didn't, needless to say.

No, I finally truly fell in love while I was watching "The Empire Strikes Back". It definitely helped that I watched this movie on a free afternoon when I was well-rested. I also experienced no technical issues this time. And then, finally, I realized that yes, Star Wars is good. And I definitely wanted to see the trilogy conclude.

And by the end of "Return of the Jedi", I was a sobbing mess. Why?

Because of Anakin! A big reason was because of Anakin!

And I wanted more. I wanted more Anakin. I knew there would be more Anakin.

A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one

My expectations weren't very high going into the Prequels (I think we all know why; you don't need to bring it up). But by the time I finished "The Phantom Menace", I was actually quite surprised at how much I enjoyed the movie. I consider this a good thing (I'm actually a very critical watcher, and the fact that the movie "passed the test" should tell you enough). I don't really like "wasting my time" on movies I don't enjoy; this has happened before, and it's never fun. But that's not the experience I had here, thank goodness.

So I continued. And lo and behold - I liked all of the Prequel movies. "Revenge of the Sith" is especially very dear to my heart, although I like all of them. And, once again, I was a sobbing mess by the end of the trilogy.

Why?

Yes... because of Anakin. Once more, I was crying because of Anakin.

Conclusion

It's safe to say that my one-off crush on Hayden Christensen returned with a vengeance (a "Revenge of the Sith", if you will). But to say that he's the only reason I like this character would be a very shallow assessment (especially since I find suited Vader attractive, too). I consider it more of a byproduct of the fact that I love who Anakin/Vader is as a person. And he's definitely the #1 reason why I got into Star Wars in the first place.

I guess I'm also a counter-example to the relatively common notion that Star Wars is "only fun for those who grew up with it as children" (this is what my sibling believes. Remember what I said about my family? I still love them for the record, I just disagree here). I first watched the movies at age 33, and I adore them. You can tell that they've been an undeniable influence on storytelling ever since their release, and the fact that they're essentially "autheur movies" despite their status as blockbusters makes them very unique. The fact that they're also not based on any prior story, all coming from the mind of George Lucas, makes them even more special. There isn't quite anything like Star Wars out there, and I'm so grateful for George Lucas for creating such a wonderful story.

That is all for now. May the Force be with you always.

~ Darth Cuddles