Troubled Jake Lloyd suffering from schizophrenia
The mother of former child star Jake Lloyd has blamed the actor's recent erratic behavior, which has landed him in legal trouble, on his battle with schizophrenia.
The 26 year old, who played a young Anakin Skywalker in 1999's Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, was taken into custody in Charleston, South Carolina on Wednesday (17Jun15) following a high speed chase with police, which ended when the actor crashed his car into trees.
He was booked for reckless driving, failure to stop and driving
without a license, and was still behind bars as WENN went to
press.
Now his mom, Lisa, has gone public with Lloyd's mental health
issues, revealing he was diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of
19.
She claims her son had previously undergone professional treatment
for the illness, but he has been on and off his medication in
recent months and she is eager to get him back under doctors' care
once he is released from jail.
Her comments emerge after a new TMZ.com report detailed an
altercation between Lloyd and his mother in March (15), when the
actor turned up on her doorstep in Indiana and began yelling at
her.
According to police documents, Lisa answered the door but refused
to let Lloyd in, allegedly prompting him to knock her down and
stomp on her. Lisa suffered cuts and bruises on her arm, but she
declined to press charges. Lloyd had already left the premises by
the time cops arrived to investigate.
Despite the run-in, Lisa insists her son is not violent.