Actors often have the difficult task of meeting each other on the same day that their characters are supposed to convey a sense of history between one another, so that’s precisely what makes the story of ’s and all the more special. In the summer of 1995, the two budding teenage actors attended drama school together at New York City’s Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, so Christensen was right there when Dawson’s career was established by way of Harmony Korine and Larry Clark’s provocative indie, . Similarly, in 2002, Dawson caught up with Christensen in the middle of his Anakin Skywalker era, as they both filmed their respective roles on the set of Billy Ray’s .
In 2004, the critically acclaimed biographical drama would go on to be nominated for best picture at 19th Independent Spirit Awards, where the two friends would present an award and unknowingly take photos that would have a tremendous impact on their lives nearly 30 years later. (The main image of this piece includes one example.) “That was actually one of the photos that [Lucasfilm’s] Dave [Filoni] saw when he first imagined potentially casting me [as Ahsoka].
He was like, ‘How is that even possible?’” Dawson tells . “So to see us young together and really have this strange, weird, magical, connective, fortuitous history and connection to all of it, it’s definitely something that the fans have been very excited about. Who could have ever imagined this? You can’t make this stuff up.
.
