Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Mike Newell:
'I’d known Jake for a long time because I’d known his parents and worked with his sister, but I’d never worked with him. His face is his fortune. He looks like he has one layer of skin fewer than anyone else; he’s tender and vulnerable in a way that a lot of people aren’t. But then he made himself into an action hero. I saw him do it, step by step. Of course the stunt man is there, because of insurance, but Jake did all his own riding, his own fighting, his own gymnastics. It’s something that you don’t see until you look at the whole movie and think: Christ, he actually did that. On the one hand he gave what I expected him to give, which is the sensitive actor stuff. But on the other, he really worked hard.'
Sir Ben Kingsley:
'Jake is a great leading man to work with - he's wonderful to work with because he makes himself vulnerable. For a strong young guy like that, not many of his American counterparts are vulnerable. They don't dare to be vulnerable because they think vulnerable is weak. It is not - to be vulnerable is to be very strong.'
Sources: Mike Newell discusses 'Prince of Persia' and Ben Kingsley praises Jake Gyllenhaal's vulnerable side in Prince of Persia
