Jake Gyllenhaal as ‘The Prince of Persia’

August 12, 2008 5:00 pm     Posted in Buzz  mapofrussia g+ page

jake-gyllenhaal-shirtless-prince-of-persia.jpgSo there have been some pictures released of Jake Gyllenhaal on the set of his new movie, Prince of Persia.


By Mapofrussia

Alright, I’m not gonna be the dude who writes about Jake G. on the website for women and hates on him. I think Gyllenhaal is a great actor. He throws down pretty hard regardless of part, whether it’s a marine or a gay cowboy or a teen who keeps seeing a rabbit.

I also won’t be the guy who says ‘yeah he looks good, but I mean, I’ve seen better.’ As a heterosexual man, I feel fine saying Jake looks godd*mn HUGE in these new pictures. Respect for putting on that weight and not being afraid to lose all that ‘sweet little boy look’ money.

But, I gotta say something.

This movie is called Prince of Persia.

OF.

PERSIA.

Attention, Hollywood. Ethnicity is not a tan. Even in the game, designed by a western production house, the Prince has a Eurasian vibe going. This isn’t Gyllenhaal’s fault of course, just the casting director’s. Though I can’t help but think that someone as successful as him, who isn’t necessarily desperate for greenbacks or notoriety, could’ve maybe at least considered that this might be a mistake.

Agent: Jake, new project. Prince of Persia. BOOYA.

Jake: That is cool. I like those games but…

Agent: But what? Video game money is baller!

Jake: Ya but I’m not Persian. I’m not of any middle eastern ancestry at all.

(Quick look in mirror)

Jake: Actually, looking at myself now, I think I may have the whitest, least ethnic face in all of Hollywood. That’s probably why I made such believable ‘everyteens’ and ‘everymarines.’ Isn’t there someone else who could do this?

Agent: But Jake, it’s about an Arab prince who controls time with a sword. You are this part.

Whatever. Video game movies with big stars are probably the next thing to dominate Hollywood after the year comic books just had at the box office, so it’s to be expected that we’d get a few mis-casts. But hey, maybe he’ll pull it off.

Apply some more bronzer, I guess.

9 Comments on "Jake Gyllenhaal as ‘The Prince of Persia’"

  1. Cecca says:
    Tue, 12th Aug 20083:48 pm 

    Thank you. As much as I love Jake, when I heard the news I wanted to slap the casting director. There's gotta be a good actor in Hollywood who can pass for Persian without liberal application of bronzer.

    Then again, this film is supposed to be a blockbuster, and a big name like Gyllenhaal is going to pull in more money than Joe Nobody who had that one guest role on whatsitcalled once. Still, I'd expect a decent casting director to at least try casting for story rather than going "Oh, he's hot, talented, and well-known. Bring him in."

  2. Kay says:
    Tue, 12th Aug 20086:40 pm 

    I agree with you…

    It's sad that the only remotely Persian-ish actor I can think of in Hollywood is Naveen Andrews.

  3. dili says:
    Tue, 12th Aug 20089:16 pm 

    Ok first, Persians are not Arabs. Arabs and Persians are two different ethnicity background. Arabs and Persians have been in war for two thousand years. So some persians find it really offensive if you call them Arabs.

    Persians are Aryans. That means we were white. That is before all the mix two thousand years ago.

    I know everyone gets it wrong, but even in the game of price of Persia, the developers claimed they tried to be as close as possible to the true Persia. Well they picked Arabic music for one, and the rest was something out of Aladdin (which is Arabic). So Who ever is reading this, Please understand, we never had 7 foot tall black men. Frank Miller just changed our culture and history. Thats why millions of Persians refused to watch that movie. So before you write anything, or make a movie, do your background check right.

  4. hanabira says:
    Wed, 13th Aug 20082:37 am 

    as dili pointed out above me:

    the race of persians is actually caucasian. for any of you who have actually been there or met many persian people you will find that in fact it is much more "western" in race than most assume. i have persian friends with pale skin, light green eyes and pale hair, as well as more tanned persian friends too… if you look at the countries around iran not all are what you would consider "arab", for example georgia and armenia…

  5. Troy says:
    Wed, 13th Aug 20082:49 am 

    In 300, when the Persians were supposed to be the bad guys, they were black, Middle Eastern, even Asian (the ninjas), but definitely not white.

    In Prince of Persia, when the Persians are supposed to be the heroes, they are Jake Gyllenhaal.

    Hollywood hacks are just a bunch of fat white guys who are so untalented that they have to Mary Sue everything they touch (look up the informal literary term "Mary Sue" and you'll see what I mean).

  6. J - NYU says:
    Wed, 13th Aug 20084:25 am 

    Troy…that is a really, REALLY interesting point. When money clouds our vision, careful thinking seems to have no place…

  7. ela says:
    Wed, 13th Aug 20086:33 am 

    i don't think people realize how many eastern europeans who are categorized as 'white' have persian roots. the persian empire was enorm and had many different regions and time periods, they're not going to have a specific ethnicity since they took over many different regions and 'mixed' with the natives.

    also, i know a lot of people think jake is hot…however, i def do NOT. his eyes are too close together and it really peeves me…his face and this roided out body do NOT MATCH. ugh this movie is looking lame.

  8. anon says:
    Wed, 13th Aug 20087:33 pm 

    It's so awesome that you point this out. Nobody gives a shit anymore about this stuff; most people don't even blink an eye at it. Kudos! I'm impressed.

  9. what says:
    Fri, 22nd Aug 20081:58 am 

    Just want to get something straight in my mind, wasn't Persia HUGE back in the day? Like from India to the Mediterranean. Cos if it was then that's a mighty diverse culture. I mean bordering the Arab territories, warring with ancient Greece and trading the India and south east Asia is bound to give rise to different ethnic groups in a empire.

    I don't really care about the acting part, Hollywood's actions are always stupid, it's inevitable.

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