Robert De Niro Drops By Star Wars Set for Anakin vs Obi-Wan Showdown

Hayden Christensen has let slip a rather unexpected tale from his time filming Revenge of the Sith. While working on the now-famous lightsaber battle between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Christensen says a legendary Hollywood figure made an appearance on set.

According to Christensen,

I remember during one of the days that we were filming that fight, Robert De Niro showed up to set, just because he wanted to come see what we were doing – not us, but George, [he] wanted to see what George was doing. And obviously, I am a huge fan of his. I remember just standing with Ewan [McGregor], and Ewan says to me, 'Is that Robert De Niro standing over there?' And I'm looking over like, 'Yeah, I think that is him.'

The visit took place while Christensen and Ewan McGregor were deep into shooting the intense duel that would become one of the saga’s most memorable moments.

Unexpected Visitor on Set

Christensen went on to describe the atmosphere when De Niro arrived. Both he and McGregor were taken aback, not quite believing their eyes at first. The presence of such a well-known actor on a Star Wars set was enough to get the cast buzzing.

De Niro wasn’t there for the stars, though. He was keen to see what director George Lucas was up to behind the scenes. Still, for Christensen, meeting one of his acting heroes in such an unexpected setting was a bit surreal.

A Shared Ritual

The encounter didn’t end with a simple hello. Christensen recalled,

And so we're excited he's there, and then he walked over, and he was very friendly. And I remember, because I would do a lot of push-ups before each take to try to get my heart rate up and a little exhaustion going, and he came over to me and he said, 'You know, I see you doing push-ups before the takes.' He was like, 'I do that, too.' That felt good.

The two actors shared a brief chat about their pre-filming routines, with De Niro noting he also does push-ups before takes to get in the zone.

For Christensen, the moment was a highlight, not just for the surprise of seeing De Niro on set, but for the small connection they shared over their approach to acting. It’s not every day you find yourself swapping tips with one of the industry’s greats while dressed as a Jedi.