He 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. 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 did not receive widespread public notice. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote, “Hayden Christensen is sensational as Glass, finding the wonder boy and the weasel in a disturbed kid flying high on a fame he hasn’t earned.” in 2005, Christensen made his Broadway debut when he appeared briefly in a 10-minute play. He was among the big name actors and actresses taking part in the fifth annual “24 Hour Plays” benefit, which raises cash for nonprofit groups in the Big Apple. This was because in Attack of the Clones, Anakin’s lightsaber was built to be reminiscent of the lightsaber in the original trilogy, while in Revenge of the Sith, Vader’s lightsaber was designed to match the lightsaber that Obi-Wan Kenobi gives to Luke Skywalker, in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey is the fourth film in which Christensen stars with Samuel L. Jackson. in 2010, Christensen sued USA Network over allegations that they stole his idea for the TV show Royal Pains.
