Beth Grant remembers Jake 'Phantom of the Opera' Gyllenhaal and Donnie Darko

Jake Gyllenhaal was spotted walking around NYC yesterday (23 October) with actress America Ferrera, his co-star from End of Watch. Jake took The Bag with him. The pictures provide the perfect accompaniment to this new interview with Beth Grant, who appeared in Donnie Darko and has already spoken about how little boy Jake swam naked with her two nieces. With many thanks to Conojito for the link, we can hear a smidgen more about what a joy it was for Beth to work with Jake. As well as talking about how wonderful it was to work on Donnie Darko, and with old friend Patrick Swayze, Beth has this to say about Jake:

'It was not just that Jake Gyllenhaal was doing the part, whom I'd been in love with since he was three years old. The first time I saw Jake he was running across my in-laws' back lawn to the pool, because he was best friends with my twin nieces, and I remember turning to my sister in law and asking, "Who is that beautiful child?" He just was magical, always, so generous and open. I remember the sixth grade show they had at the end of the year. There he was, this sixth grade boy, and he stood up and sang "The Music of the Night" fromPhantom of the Opera. What a song for an eleven year old! I thought, this kid is a star. Whether or not he's going to be a movie star, who knows, but he's a star in the world, because he's luminous.'

 'We do have it on video! My in-laws have it. It's just crazy, we looked at it one Thanksgiving, still before he became a star, and I thought it all over again. So, for me to be acting with him — and also with Buddy [Swayze], who in many ways was a hero of mine, because he'd been the first person from our acting class who'd really made it, and who'd been a big influence in teaching me to love and accept myself as a character actress — the role became kind of true to life. It was a magical experience doing that film, it really was.'

 Many thanks to IHJ for the new and old pictures!