From what I have read, when Lucas was directing episodes II and III, he rarely wanted more than one take for each scene. He was always content with the first take. Some of the better actors would actually have to plead and insist to get a second take when they felt their acting was off in that scene, as sometimes happens. But Lucas sees the acting as a second thought. His main focus was always the special effects. With the right director, I think Hayden wound have been just as good as he was in those other films. The problem is Lucas never pushed him or made him do better. So he gave a subpar performance because that's all that was asked of him.