By Nicola Moyne
JAKE Gyllenhaal is clearly an actor who likes to keep his fans on their toes.
Taking the industry by storm with his performance in cult classic Donnie Darko, the 29-year-old award-winner has since wowed cinema audiences and critics alike with leading roles in Brokeback Mountain, The Day After Tomorrow, Rendition and Zodiac.
However, despite his obvious talent, Jake has often said he wants to be taken “less seriously” and just enjoy his work. Which is presumably why he decided to play Prince Dastan in Jerry Bruckheimer’s latest adventure film Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.
Set in Ancient Persia (but filmed in Morocco), the film tells the story of an orphan (Dustan) who is taken in by the King.
Brave and strong, Prince Dastan is the perfect son to his father – until a series of events leads him to accidentally kill the King, and take on a Princess’s mission to save the world.
It’s your usual Disney adventure, with a few corny lines, time travel and amazing stunts thrown into the mix. And Jake fulfils the role of hero with dashing humour.
However, as he told me last week while publicising the film with co-star Gemma Arterton, getting in shape for the role was tough.
“It was hard but fun at the same time,” the actor explains. “I really enjoyed doing all the stunt work, and the heat actually made it easier because my muscles were relaxed.
“I’d like to say I did all the stunts myself, but I really didn’t. I did do all the landing shots though – and they were the hardest part,” he laughs.
Indeed, gaming fans will already be aware that the film is adapted from a classic 80s video game and the sword fights, action sequences and wall jumps are very much in keeping with the original premise.
However, as Jake explains, it wasn’t the popularity of the game that drew him to the role.
“I have always wanted to play a prince,” he jests. “Some of my friends would probably say I’m more like a princess, so it’s quite fitting that I play a prince.
“Plus, it was great to try out an English accent. I would walk around on set picking up different regional accents but ‘smashing’ was definitely my favourite phrase!”
Indeed, it seems the cast and crew had a lot of fun on set, and Gemma adds: “I took the p*** out of Jake and he took the p*** out of me – that’s how it worked really!
“We all take our work very seriously, but I certainly don’t take myself too seriously at all and that’s how Jake was, which made it a really fun set to work on.”
And the film’s ancient Persia references added an interesting angle.
“The art work was amazing,” Gemma insists, “and although the story is obviously fictional there’s a real sense of history that’s captured in the film.”
But filming in stunning Morocco didn’t hurt either. “Everyone was complaining about the heat, but I loved it because it’s never hot here,” the pretty former Bond actress laughs.
“I was in my element; it’s the biggest role I’ve had to date and it was truly an honour to work with everyone.”
It seems everyone had a good time on set, with Jake adding: “If we got the chance to make a sequel, I definitely would. It was fun to film, and I’d be completely happy to do it all over again.”
But there was one scene he’d probably leave out of the script next time…
“There’s a scene in the movie where I’m running away from ostrich’s and that was the most terrifying moment of my life,” he reveals.
“When I watch it back, it’s one of my favourite scenes, but filming it was a nightmare. They have these beady little eyes that just stare you down. I always thought they were friendly animals, but they’re not!”
Good looks, and humour – no wonder Jake’s royalty in Hollywood right now.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is released in cinemas nationwide tomorrow (Fri).