JAKE GYLLENHAAL is glad his parents stopped him accepting major Hollywood roles as a youngster, because he was able to cherish his childhood and realise the importance of family.
The actor had appeared in three films by the time he was a teenager, but his parents, director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, refused to allow their son time off school to star in 1992 Disney movie The Mighty Ducks.
He tells the Telegraph magazine, “That did happen a lot (turning down roles). Or rather, it happened a few times that I remember very clearly. Which felt like a lot when I was a little kid. But I think they knew it can be a dangerous business, particularly for a child.”