“Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” opens Friday. “Val really is an inspiration for this character,” he insists.) (Footnote for “Willow” aficionados: Gyllenhaal says that that film’s star, Val Kilmer, served as “my inspiration for the hair in this movie” - and more. And with ‘Prince of Persia,’ I thought this is a little bit of all those things mixed into one.” “When I think about being a kid, I think about the wonder of these movies. “And ‘Willow,’ ” he adds, making note of the 1988 Ron Howard/George Lucas collaboration, a Middle Earth-ian fantasy made more than a decade before Peter Jackson got his hands on “The Lord of the Rings.” Those would be the “Indiana Jones” titles, he says, “The Goonies” and “E.T.”
And I thought it was time to make a movie that was like the ones I loved when I was a kid.” “In the past, I looked at acting and making movies maybe a bit too seriously, and took myself a little bit too seriously. “It’s definitely a different type of movie than I’ve made before,” says Gyllenhaal. So, what’s this dedicated thespian doing in sixth-century armor, leaping walled citadels in a $150 million Walt Disney sword-and-sandals saga adapted from a video game? UP TO THIS point in his career, Jake Gyllenhaal can be found, most notably, in a unique and surreal cult film (“Donnie Darko”), in sharply observed American indies (“The Good Girl,” “Lovely & Amazing”), tense Middle East conflict dramas (“Jarhead,” “Rendition”), a David Fincher-directed serial-killer thriller (“Zodiac”), an English-language remake of a Danish dogma piece (“Brothers”), and an Oscar-winning love story between two men (“Brokeback Mountain,” opposite Heath Ledger, of course). ‘Prince of Persia’ provides recess for serious Jake Gyllenhaal – East Bay Times