May 20, 2010 Filed Under: Damn Yankees,News & Headlines Comments (0)

We’ll get to Prince of Persia in a second, but first let’s talk about Jake Gyllenhaal, the song-and-dance man.

The 29-year-old actor tells me he’s well prepared and gung-ho to star in a new movie adaptation of Damn Yankees, the legendary Broadway musical set in the 1950s about baseball fan Joe Hardy (Gyllenhaal) who sells his soul to the devil (Jim Carrey) to play ball against the Bronx Bombers…

“I sing,” Gyllenhaal told me yesterday. “Of course, I sing. I’ve been singing since I was a little child.” (Who could forget when he slipped into a dress and wig on Saturday Night Live to belt out a number from Dreamgirls back in January 2009.)

When the Yankees would begin production is still a question, “but it’s definitely something that’s in development,” Gyllenhaal said.

We imagine busting out in song and dance won’t be as painful as taking on his first action hero role in the new video game-turned-movie Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, out May 27.

He admits to “screwing up” his shoulders from all the hanging and grabbing onto things he had to do in many of the fight scenes. But even worse? “I tore off all the skin off both my hands from the palms to the middle of my fingers,” he said. “Pretty much, all the skin was torn off. It was worth it for the result, but when it happened I walked up to the stunt guys and said, ‘I tore off all the skin on my hands!’ They were like, ‘You are such a pussy.’”

Gyllenhaal laughs when I mention how he made headline news recently when he admitted to being afraid of ostriches after working alongside dozens of them in Persia. “It’s important to admit your fears, Marc,” he said. “They seem like very innocent birds but I’m told they could get very, very violent. You always have to watch your back. It’s those things you find cute and cuddly that you just never know about.”

Oh, as for going up against Sarah Jessica Parker and Sex and the City on opening day, Gyllenhaal mentions Carrie Bradshaw & Company’s trip to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. “But If you wanna see people who really know how to ride a camel,” he cracked, “then you really should see Prince of Persia.”

May 20, 2010 Filed Under: News & Headlines,Prince of Persia Comments (0)

Jake Gyllenhaal becomes a man of action this Memorial Day weekend in his new film, The Prince of Persia, where he plays a muscle-bound street urchin-turned-hero. Soon the hunky star will be talking to PEOPLE to answer your questions.

So, what do you want to ask Jake? Curious how he got those abs of steel? Want to know what it’s like to attend the Oscars? Wondering what qualities he looks for in a woman?

Send your question to reader_questions@peoplemag.com (be sure to include your name and hometown, too) and you could see it featured in an upcoming issue of PEOPLE!

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May 10, 2010 Filed Under: News & Headlines,Prince of Persia Comments (0)

Jake Gyllenhaal worked hard to embody the fearless hero Prince Dastan in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time – getting bulked up and mastering sword fighting and the acrobatic art of parkour.

One thing he couldn’t conquer? His fear of ostriches.

“They would say, ‘Don’t make any noise around the ostriches. They’ll tear out your eyes and rip out your heart.’ So, I was naturally terrified,” Gyllenhaal, 29, said with a laugh at Sunday’s London premiere of the movie, which opens May 28 in the U.S. “They look like they’re innocent, but they’re really not.”

Gyllenhaal’s costar, Gemma Arterton, can attest to his level of fear. “He was really scared,” she told PEOPLE. “He ran away, and the look on his face – it’s not acting. It’s real.”

It sounds like Arterton, 24, who plays Princess Tamina, had a better experience with animals on the Morocco set.

“I did a horse-riding stunt, which took me two weeks to rehearse,” she says. “I had to jump onto a horse while it was galloping towards me. It was pretty scary, and I’m proud of myself for doing it, and I made sure that [I looked over my shoulder] so that everyone knew it was me and not a stunt double.”

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May 08, 2010 Filed Under: Damn Yankees,Interviews,News & Headlines Comments (0)

Jake Gyllenhaal may have a serious film/indie film reputation in his professional life. But the guy likes to break a sweat, literally, and really wants to do that in his “dream project” — a movie about brash, womanizing “Broadway” Joe Namath, whose glory days were with the 1960s and 70s New York Jets.

“It’s been a dream of mine, always, ever since I got into the movies, this Joe Namath film biography,” he told me. ” I care about this project a lot and I would be truly honored to get the chance to do that. That’s why I keep answering questions about it, even though it isn’t ready to go. Yet.  It’s important to me.”

“I know I could pull it off. I think his story’s incredible. I’m in a hurry t get that one up and going, while I still have better knees than he ended up with.”

At 29, Gyllenhaal is still young enough to do it, and he has just enough of a a hint of leading man dash about him to pull it off. And he’s athletic — into martial arts and cycling (Lance Armstrong is among his famous friends). He could play Namath from college (You need to cast a good Bear Bryant to cover the Alabama years, maybe a good Howard Schnellenberger, too) to the Super Bowl.

He was quarterback in America’s greatest sports city during the height of the sexual revolution. Does Jake G. ooze enough testosterone to pull that off? Would he cover Namath’s downhill slide from that 1969 high?

Gyllenhaal also wants to test out his pipes. The musical Damn Yankees “is still in development and I’m still hoping to do it. That’s a tough nut to crack.”

What? How so? You train to play baseball, hire a vava-voom to play Lola, get yourself a decent devil (John Malkovich, Hell-oooo) and you’re set.

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May 06, 2010 Filed Under: News & Headlines,Prince of Persia Comments (0)

Jake Gyllenhaal knows how to keep it real. While filming Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (out May 28), the actor, 29, stayed in character even after the cameras stopped rolling.

“Jake would chat with crew and visitors in a British accent,” a set source tells Us Weekly. “It was funny to hear this American guy talking in an accent when he wasn’t shooting. He took it very seriously.”

Another thing the single stud took very seriously? Transforming his body with cardio and power circuits. “it’s a very physical role,” the actor — who insisted on doing many of his own stunts — admitted at the WonderCon comic book convention April 3.

The hard work paid off. “He was very proud of the way his body looked,” says a source. “He was constantly shirtless.”

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Apr 29, 2010 Filed Under: News & Headlines Comments (0)

Sandra Bullock nabbed the cover of this week’s People with the big news about her divorce and baby son Louis, but she bumped one of the magazine’s biggest annual stories — it’s time for its Most Beautiful People of the Year list! Julia Roberts had been slated for the front of the issue, and she heads the group that includes Zoe Saldana, Jake Gyllenhaal, and more. Robert Pattinson is also up there, and he shared about how he feels his best when he’s not dressed up like Edward Cullen. He said, “Having that makeup put on every single day, as soon as you get it taken off it’s like, ‘Oh, you do look normal. You look healthy now.’” Jennifer Aniston weighed in on her confidence, saying, “I feel beautiful when I’m laughing and surrounded by friends that know me and love me and vice versa . . . A good body scrub and massage do the trick as well.” Their list also includes favorites like Scarlett Johansson and Jennifer Lopez, while welcoming newcomers Justin Bieber and Katy Perry.

Apr 26, 2010 Filed Under: News & Headlines,Prince of Persia,Rumours Comments (0)

Jake Gyllenhaal spoke exclusively in a British accent while shooting his latest film.

The 29-year-old actor plays the lead in upcoming action movie Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. He had to put on an English accent for the role, and was so keen to give his best performance, he stayed in character from the day shooting began to the day it ended.

“Jake would chat with crew and visitors in a British accent,” a film set source said. “It was funny to hear this American guy talking in an accent when he wasn’t shooting. He took it very seriously.”

Jake bulked up for the film, following a strict diet and exercise regime to make sure he looked good in his skimpy costume. He was so thrilled with the way his torso looked, he spent most of his time walking around with his shirt off.

“It’s a very physical role. He was very proud of the way his body looked. He was constantly shirtless,” the source added.

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Apr 24, 2010 Filed Under: News & Headlines Comments (0)

Jarhead co-stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard fought for real on the set of the army movie, after a fight scene left the latter with a broken rib.

Sarsgaard admits he punched Gyllenhaal “as hard as he could in the windpipe” during a bout of “macho crap”, intensified by their real life relationship – Sarsgaard is married to Gyllenhaal’s sister Maggie.

The fight took place during a scene that required a mob of soldiers, including Gyllenhaal, to brand Sarsgaard’s character.

Sarsgaard was hurt during the first take – he later discovered he had suffered a broken rib – and he snapped when director Sam Mendes ordered further takes.

The star tells GQ magazine, “When they came on take two, they looked like they were coming just as hard, so I hit Jake as hard as I could in the windpipe and kind of claimed it was an accident and stuff. And they came for a third time, and it was really hard again, and I just… I lost it.”

The pair didn’t speak for 10 days – but he insists the bust-up eventually strengthened their friendship.

Sarsgaard adds, “The nice thing is, for Jake, he doesn’t see having any argument as something that ruins a relationship. He sees it as something that could potentially help one.

“I’m extremely close to him. He’s basically my brother.”

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Apr 23, 2010 Filed Under: News & Headlines,Prince of Persia Comments (1)

Jake Gyllenhaal embodies an action star – literally – in his new movie Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, according to his costar Gemma Arterton.

“He has so much action, but he does really well at it,” Arterton says in a video promoting the movie, due in theaters May 28. “He’s a bit of an action figure himself, I think.”

Gyllenhaal, 29, who plays the Prince of Dastan, definitely has an action figure physique for his role.

In the flick, Gyllenhaal’s buff character joins forces with a princess, Tamina (Arterton), in medieval Persia to fight a furious leader who is trying to destroy the world by stirring up a devastating sandstorm.

“She realizes that his destiny is actually part of her destiny,” says Arterton, 24.

But does Gyllenhaal really believe in fate? He just might. “I think there are signs all along the way throughout our life that tell us things that we can either pay attention to – or not,” he says.

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Apr 15, 2010 Filed Under: News & Headlines Comments (0)

Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly revealed he is very proud of the success Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal have gone on to have.

The Box director cast the now Oscar-nominated stars in his film in 2001 when they were virtually unknown.

Kelly revealed: “It was Jake’s second or third film I believe, and it was Maggie’s first film, and I just feel blessed to have gotten to be a part of their lives right at the very beginning.”

He added: “If Donnie Darko helped kind of shine a light on their talent and provide opportunities for them, it does make me very proud of them. I’m sure they would have found success regardless because of who they are. I feel so happy for them and see them both nominated for Oscars in different roles, to be doing so well and having these amazing careers.”

But Kelly revealed there was a time he thought Donnie Darko would never get released.

He said: “I always knew that I had something special, but when the film was initially released everyone said that it was a mess, it was incoherent, it was unreleasable. I remember when we showed it at Sundance for the first time. There was so much negativity, I just thought the film might not ever see the light of day.

“So to see it be rediscovered and to see it build into such a phenomenon over almost 10 years now, is something that’s been a huge deal for me.”

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