One of the biggest and weirdest problems with The Phantom Menace is the age difference between Anakin, played by Jake Lloyd, who was eight years old, and Padme, played by Natalie Portman, who was double Lloyds age. Marcia Lucas took issue with this choice because the film positions Anakin getting with Padme romantically, which makes no sense and is odd since one actor is a child and the other looks like a grown woman.