[Updated] Why Jake Gyllenhaal chose Dastan over Avatar's Sully and the dangers and gifts of making movies

Many congratulations to Gemma Arterton on her marriage, which took place in Spain on Saturday! Report here.

While I'm loath to interrupt all those in the UK watching the Brothers DVDs that they bought today, I thought I'd better do a new post, if only to let this image from yesterday float around our imaginations for a while... 'farmer's market catch of the day/month/year: jake gyllenhaal, buff and scruffy, holding motorcycle helmet, intensely swoon-worthy.' Following hot on the heels of the People sighting of Jake arriving for brekkie on a motorbike, there now seems more support for the idea that Jake Gyllenhaal has learned what so many of us bikers have learned - it's a lot easier to get up those hills when you don't have to pedal. Someone should tell Lance...


But talking of Brothers, which, of course, many of you will be buying this week, thanks to MMK for this wonderful, and slightly distracting, Brothers montage.


Until we have the pleasure of seeing Jake on his bike (and finding out what breed it is), I'll make do with posting more about Prince of Persia, which has now taken an extraordinary $216m wordwide. In this video interview with Sky News, Jake and Gemma talk about what it was like throwing off the roles after living in them for so many months: 'We did shoot this movie for six, seven months so by the end of it you'd been playing one character for so long it was sort of a relief to shed all those things, cut your hair, go for a run without lifting any weights. I like changing from one role to the next. In fact I went onto the next movie and played a Viagra salesman. It was quite different!'


Jake Gyllenhaal did a bunch of excellent interviews for Prince of Persia and I'm going to be mulling them over for some time as I digest the heady PoP month of May 2010. This French interview - with the Cool Prince of Hollywood - is one of the best. You can see the scans over at IHJ.


Jake talks about turning down the role of Sully in Avatar in favour of Dastan: "When James and I discussed the project, I wasn't ready. In this business, if you don't listen to yourself, you're going to meet serious trouble. What made the Prince of Persia different is the humor. Dastan, my character is a hero who doesn't take himself seriously; he's funny and that's what I like about him. I had fun during this shoot, even if I spent over an hour and a half every morning putting my costume on, with thirty minutes just to tie my boots"

Comme Au Cinema

"I learned to keep my distance from all this [paparazzi attention], I know how to protect myself. The problem in my profession isn't the tabloid press. Moviemaking is a dangerous for your mental health if you're not honest with yourself. If you play a game, then sooner or later, you'll lose yourself. The hardest part for me is to be fair. I want to choose good stories, the roles that I really wanted, and, above all, give meaning to my life and make it meaningful to others.When one of my movies affects people, it's little, but that's something." It's an awful lot more than something, Jake.


On working with the delinquent youths for Brothers: "I remember a meeting with young people aged between 14 and 16 years. One of them read a poem aloud. He was so charismatic, so talented ... This experience touched me deeply. I know all the boys that I work with; I know what they did to get there and I understand their anger and sadness. These are feelings that I experienced at their age. I empathise with them because, ultimately, only a few kilometers separate the rich neighborhoods of Los Angeles and downtown, where they lived."


"During the filming of Jarhead Jamie Foxx tried to teach me chess. He taught me two key strokes, which, if I use them intelligently, lets me win the game. In the kitchen, it's much the same thing. I master a few techniques, but what counts is that I know what to do. I love going to the market, to see and touch the products; it gives me ideas. Being a good cook means to invent, be intuitive and not follow recipes to the letter."


Updated to add new pictures of Jake leaving the gym in Studio City today (7 June). These pictures show that Jake is definitely making up for all the gym hours I've lost over the last month. Many thanks to IHJ for the pics!




Pictures with thanks from MMK, links and IHJ.