What qualities of Jake Gyllenhaal say “Prince of Persia” to you?
Jake is a wonderful actor who’s proven himself in a real variety of roles and is also very handsome. I knew instinctively that he would create a really compelling character in Dastan who could be heroic and human at the same time. What qualities does Gemma Arterton bring to the film? Gemma is really a talented and classically-trained young actress who had recently graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. She’s also very beautiful. Again, like Jake, I knew that we had found someone who could create fully-dimensional character in Tamina. As a producer, what efforts do you initiate to create the sense of cultural authenticity in the universe of the story? “Prince of Persia” is a fantasy based upon history, so we hired an amazing team of designers who did an enormous amount of cultural research into Persia and its vast empire at that time. But at the same time, we gave them the freedom to invent a world especially designed for the film. Friendship, patriotism, teamwork
