Jake Gyllenhaal in London? You must be Donnie Darko

After yesterday's 'Roast Beef Award Video', in which Jake Gyllenhaal spoke of the support he had received from the British public for Donnie Darko and This Is Our Youth, it seemed entirely approporiate to post links to these segments from an ITN interview. This interview took place during one of Jake's infamous flying visits to The Smoke, this time to publicise Brokeback Mountain, but, as is the wont with British interviews, the talk soon turned to that film with the rabbit.


When the interviewer informs Jake that she had just attended an outdoor screening (can't have been in the summer then) of Donnie Darko in Kensington Gardens, you can see that Jake is chuffed, just as he is when the interviewer also says that she saw a Donnie Darko rabbit drawn on to a wall in Hampstead. Jake says that the day before, when he had ordered room service in his hotel, the guy who brought it up had said that Jake looked familiar and then, before Jake had the chance to say anything, the chap said 'Darko!'. What is great about this moment is that this is the first time I have heard Jake say a word in an English accent. As a result, I want to hear more - in my mind I can now hear Jake saying 'Give me those sands of time, or else...'


In the final segment, Jake is asked what he likes to do in London and he mentions that the previous night (clearly Jake had been extraordinarily hungry the previous day, but this was probably due to the travel..) he had gone to Providores on Marylebone High Street - an intriguing mix of Spanish and New Zealand food. Completely irrelevantly, this is also the street in which I saw Stephen Gyllenhaal's poetry reading back in December.


It is also good to hear Jake admit to being an appreciator of Britain's Pub Culture although, as he says, he's not quite certain if he caught that bug in London as it's something he enjoys to do everywhere.


In a previous interview (in the Evening Standard back in 2002), it was noted how the three stars of This Is Our Youth had enjoyed exploring their bit of London: 'Their London experience may be confined to the walk from their apartments in Covent Garden to the theatre in Charing Cross Road, but they have managed to pin down some of their favourite things en route. "I would definitely credit Wagamama," says Hayden. "That's the place where we learn all our lines." "And Sheekey's," chimes in Jake. "We also like Teatro."' I will never see Wagamama in quite the same way again... It is also interesting to hear that 'The things they particularly like about London are somewhat surprising: the taxis and the Tube, both of which they consider models of efficiency. And they don't have a problem with the weather.' They were in London, England, right?


But to get back to the ITN interview, there is a wonderful piece in the second segment in which Jake discusses how Ang pulled him towards Brokeback Mountain because he turned the focus onto love. It is also captivating to hear Jake describes how all of Ang's movies, including Hulk, are all love stories and speak from Ang's very personal experiences.


Includes pictures from IHJ.