In the Prince of Persia: Sands Of Time, Jake Gyllenhaal plays Dastan, a talented and athletic prince that must save the destiny of a dagger. If the dagger falls into the wrong hands, it could destroy the world.
To prepare for the shoot, Gyllenhaal — who now sports a large chest and biceps after buffing up for the role — spent a lot of time researching and studying the video game the movie is based on. We talked with him in London.
This Prince of Persia is such a huge production. Weren’t you an indie guy, once upon a time, before becoming Prince Dastan?
I guess so. But I think I’ve done a lot of different kind of films, but this is definitely the biggest one.
How did it make you feel when you arrived at the set and saw all those massive sets?
When we were driving to the set, each road where we were driving, there would be 500 cars … particularly in Morocco … There were thousands of cars, (it) looked like we were going to a sporting event! Then it took me 40 minutes to suit up in my costume, like I was going to some game. Soon as we walked on the set, it was insane. The big thing was all those details. We could shoot in every corner, we could do stunts with two units (two action sets at the same time), with one 100 feet up in the air.
Are you hooked on those big productions now?
I really liked it. I’ve just done two movies smaller in size and that was a wonderful thing to do for me after this one, because I did need to feed other aspects of my skill set. It’s a kind of drug, when you’re jumping over things, fighting people, looking like a badass … it’s hard not to want to do it again.
How much did you workout for the movie, to improve your body? But did you also play the original videogame?
Yes, and it was a very difficult research process. I had to exercise and play video games (laughs). I’m not a card carrying gamer, but I definitely love playing videogames. As a kid I played the first version of the game … then I took a 20-year hiatus. When I got the script, I was fascinated because the primary resource for this is the video game. I played like I would meet a marine if I was going to be a marine, or go to prison if I was going to play someone in jail.
What motivated you to do this movie?
Doing this movie was like going back to that old version of the boy, the eight years old, playing the game, and who loved Indiana Jones, The Goonies, E.T. To this day, as I see this movie, I go back to being that kid. I made the movie for that part of myself, so I made this movie for all those kids. And that’s a new audience for me, that I’m really excited about, because they’re so scrutinizing.
Were you expecting so much buzz on your buffing up?
Well … it wasn’t made on vanity. It was on a functionality, to try to make all those stunts. There’s been some curious approaches like: “Oh, you did those stunts, cool. But how do you look like that!?” Someone asked me: “How did that make you feel?” I was like: “I pretty much felt the same inside, you know!” (laughs) My strength, inside, the most important, comes from a lot of other different pain.
Would you like to direct?
Yeah. I’m almost 30, so … it is becoming less presumptuous.
