Jake Gyllenhaal, the star of the forthcoming video game-turned-blockbuster-movie Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time has revealed that he rekindled his love for the original game while he got into character in preparation for the film.
The Prince of Persia franchise first began in 1989 on a number of computer and video game formats. Due to its immense popularity, the game has spawned numerous adventure sequels. Now the game has been made into a Jerry Bruckheimer action movie and Jake decided to take his role very seriously.
The 29-year-old actor had been a fan of the Prince of Persia game as a youngster, and he decided to go back to the various versions of the game to capture the essence of Prince Dastan, who he plays in the film.
Jake wanted the character to be as authentic as possible and really worked hard to bulk up for the film. He explains:
“I used to play the side-scrolling version of The Prince of Persia on the first Mac computer in elementary school. And then I took a 20 year hiatus from the game. I got back into it for this film. It’s a very difficult form of research. Playing the game three or four times a day and getting paid to exercise - it was really tough.”