This summer's action-adventure blockbuster Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time stars a Jake Gyllenhaal like you've never seen. Totally buff with ripped, chiseled abs, Gyllenhall swings around Arabian cities and dodges sandstorms like he leapt off the cover of a romance novel. The film's producer, action magnate Jerry Bruckheimer, explained how he did it.

"He really worked hard," Bruckheimer said. "He worked for months and months before the movie started. He trained every single day. He rode bikes, he lifted weights, he had a very specific diet. He couldn't have any fats, and it was really a lot of protein, and all during filming, he was working in 120 degree heat. After a long day, around 7 night [we saw him] taking a jog, running, so he kept it up through the whole movie. He had a trainer with him both here and in Morocco working with him to make sure he really kept his physical appearance the way he wanted it to be."

Once his body was in shape, Gyllenhaal had to learn the moves. The prince practices Parkour, the art of free running. "We brought in the key experts out of France with us. In the opening of the movie, there's a young man who portrays Jake as a young boy. He was a Parkour expert. He's 10 years old and he's amazing. Absolutely amazing. They sent us online, Facebook things of these kids. This kid was extraordinary, Will Foster, and the primary Parkour expert was David Belle who created Parkour."

Image © Disney

Gyllenhaal also did many of his own stunts. "When he's jumping across the rooftops, that's all real. A lot of the stuff that's falling on him is all CGI but all the roof stuff, all the rooftops is all real stuff."

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time opens May 28.

Story/Interview by Fred Topel

Starpulse contributing writer

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