Jake Gyllenhaal breezes into the room and pulls up a chair. He makes a quip about the wooden furnishings in our surroundings and, as he takes his seat, exudes the air of a man who is very contented with his lot. And why wouldn’t he be? At 29, the Californian has already shown an enduring quality in his work, from his breakout role in Donnie Darko, through big-budget thrillers such as Rendition and smaller, critically acclaimed films such as Jarhead and Brothers.
Then there is Brokeback Mountain, the film which earned him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor and cemented his reputation of serious credibility. Now he’s become an action hero, playing the lead in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Jerry Bruckheimer‘s adaptation of the bestselling video game.
Gyllenhaal also appears to have resolved something within himself. Often said to be a somewhat reticent interviewee, today he is open and engaging, humorous and genuine. He talks repeatedly in his soft voice about how he no longer takes himself quite so seriously and how he has learned to embrace the various facets of his career and the life he leads around that.
Long touted to become one of the actors of his generation, someone who will remain at the forefront of the industry when all the other fly-by-night teen heartthrobs have added “Don’t you know who I am?” to their most-used phrases, Gyllenhaal has earned widespread praise.
Jim Sheridan, who directed him in Brothers, compares him to Warren Beatty. Ben Kingsley says he is the classic American film actor, while Four Weddings and a Funeral director Mike Newell, who worked with Gyllenhaal on Prince of Persia, believes that the Californian has the versatility to become one of the greats.
“Jake has this wonderful thing where he can appear in any kind of movie,” Newell says. “Now he’s proved that he can be a star in this kind of movie, and we know he can give a smaller more interior performance. He is very multi-faceted and multi-talented.”
Prince of Persia is certainly a new avenue for Gyllenhaal. Once Bruckheimer decided he wanted him as the lead there wasn’t much of a decision to make. “He’s the king of Hollywood and he decided he wanted me to be the Prince of Persia. It was quite flattering.
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