Jake Gyllenhaal made some poor choices in 2010, among poor dating choices, he also acted in the video game adaptation of Prince of Persia bearing the same name. Be it Donnie Darko or October Sky, the actor was always known for portraying serious and dark roles with a lot of layers. Thus, when Gyllenhaal chose to do Prince of Persia, which was also embroiled in a lot of controversies as well made people question his intentions. His newfound sense of lightheartedness and refusal to take himself too seriously baffled many.
Thus his answer to the question helped many to put it into perspective. He was simply not taking him as seriously as an actor. He believed he has done his fair share of dark roles, and deserved a much-needed break to get the creative juices flowing again and avoid falling into a potential burnout.
Jake Gyllenhaal wanted to lie low from dark roles for a minute
Gore and dark roles, can often usually take a toll on the actor who is paying them. Similarly, in the case of Jake Gyllenhaal, the actor wanted a break from all the mental pressure that goes into playing such a character and instead wanted to do something light. And thus, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time came along. The actor is subsequently known for working on heavy subject matters and mind-benders like Prisoners, Nightcrawler, and Donnie Darko.
Therefore, his interest in a film such as Prince of Persia stumped many. And thus, it became a much more predictable question in interviews back in the day. In one such interview with Reuter, the actor was asked why he chose this film at such a vital time, which was believed to be his peak. He answered,
“I think it was about time I stopped taking myself so seriously, and I think to learn as an actor and as any artist that there are different facets to what you do.”
He then further continued saying,
“I have been told often that I have a good sense of humour and the slew of movies that I’ve done, —all have incorporated that sense of humour and a sense of fun, and I think a sense of real entertainment. Those were the movies that I loved always when I was a kid. I loved Indiana Jones. There were movies I remember that were told for children or the child-like part of ourselves. Some of them are really dark, some of them are light, I consider this (Prince of Persia) as sort of lighter, but that’s what I wanted to do, I wanted to tell a story and be in a story that was great fun.”
He always believed he had great expectations to live up to, and after some strenuous years, he finally decided he is going to do the projects he finds interesting and not what people will find him ‘interesting’ in.
The controversy surrounding Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time did not see quite the success Disney intended it to back in 2010. At best, the film was remembered to be the worst case of whitewashing in Hollywood. Solely because of casting a white actor as the central role of Iranian descent. The film although did not derail his career, had the potential to do so, Gyllenhaal himself admitted. In an interview with Yahoo Entertainment, the actor revealed,
“I think I learned a lot from that movie in that I spend a lot of time trying to be very thoughtful about the roles that I pick and why I’m picking them,–And you’re bound to slip up and be like, ‘That wasn’t right for me,’ or ‘That didn’t fit perfectly.’ There have been a number of roles like that. And then a number of roles that do.”
Even though, Disney had a lot of hopes for the movie that it can potentially turn into a long-running successful franchise, the mediocre reviews surrounding it crushed the probability of happening so. But Jake Gyllenhaal’s career after learning such a valuable lesson after the disaster only sore high. After the actor went back to his regular film choices with films such as Prisoners and Nightcrawler. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was nothing but just a blip in his career.
Source: Reuters
