Fun And Video Games For Jake Gyllenhaal

 CEBU, Philippines - Jake Gyllenhaal just wants to have fun. Hence, he’s swinging back into cinemas this weekend as the swash-buckling hero in “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.”

 “Somehow it sparked that kid side of me and I just thought, ‘I got to play this part,’” says Gyllenhaal. “Whereas a lot of other roles take themselves so seriously, particularly in the huge movies, I couldn’t imagine myself spending six or seven months of my life taking myself so seriously,” he laughed.

 After a series of heavy-hitting dramas, including “Brothers,” “Rendition,” and “Brokeback Mountain,” the actor is playing a character straight out of a video game console.

 Based on the game “Prince of Persia,” Gyllenhaal portrays Prince Dustan, a street kid with a big destiny. He is adopted by a king at a young age and brought up to be a sword-wielding warrior in 6th century Persia. The story follows a royal murder mystery and his adventure with a mystical dagger that can turn back time.

 During a recent interview with The Associated Press in London, Gyllenhaal was in a lighthearted mood:

 AP: We’re presuming you’ve been offered loads of different action roles before, so what was it about Prince Dustan that really grabbed you?

 GYLLENHAAL: Well, to me the moment I read the first sequence of the movie, which is the siege on Alamut where he’s (Prince Dustan) jumping around and lighting things on fire and having a good time doing it, I think that was the moment when I thought, ‘there’s a sense of humor here.’ Here’s one of those classic characters that’s in the vein of Errol Flynn or Indiana Jones and those are the movies I loved when I was a kid, and I loved watching.

 AP: So you wanted to have a laugh?

 GYLLENHAAL: Yeah I wanted to have a good time, and I wanted to know that I was making a movie that an audience could have a good time in too.

 AP: And had you played the video game before? Are you any good?

 GYLLENHAAL: When I was eight or nine years old I played the original side-scroller game a lot. And then I took a 20-year hiatus (laughs) and only picked it up when I was doing research for the movie — which was very, very difficult research, it was hard. Three to four times a day I would have to be forced to go and play the video game. People don’t really know how hard it is to be an actor and I can tell you how hard it is; it’s working out every day and getting paid for it and also playing video games. So it’s really been tough, a really tough road (laughs).

 AP: Did you enjoy the stunts? It’s very different doing them compared with playing the game. We’re actually quite disappointed you’re just sitting there and you haven’t swung through the window onto a horse.

 GYLLENHAAL: That would be an incredible entrance, I would have done that for you if I could have and we had more time. But no, Mike Newell, the director, had a wire attached to my back and he would just control me ... I would do whatever he wanted. Move to the left, move to the right, jump, fight this guy, win!

 AP: We want to ask you about the Parkour (free-running) stunts. Are you quite good at that now?

 GYLLENHAAL: No, I have to say. I saw this thing on MTV called “The Ultimate Parkour Challenge” ... where they brought in some of the best Parkour athletes in the world. And I watched them do all these crazy things, which was actually semi-disturbing to see because they got injured quite a lot and I just thought ‘I’ve got no idea what I’m doing, these guys are extraordinary.’ The fundamentals I do know and I can do things, but ultimately I cannot say I’m a card carrying Parkour athlete. I just try to mimic. I did jumps, I did my own jumps and different things but the dangerous stuff was done by the professionals.”

 AP: Would you return to the role? Obviously Disney’s got the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, too, and this looks like it could run awhile, too.

 GYLLENHAAL: Of course, I’d loved playing the role. I loved being a part of the movie. It’s an incredible world, so if that were an opportunity, I would definitely take it.