TOP CELEBRITY ARTS: Jake Gyllenhaal 'Just Fascinated' With 'Source Code'

'There are a million ideas that come out of it,' actor tells MTV News.
By Kara Warner

Jake Gyllenhaal
Photo: MTV News

In addition to the thrill ride and action-oriented aspects the "Source Code" trailers and TV spots are selling — as well as the film's very capable leading man, Jake Gyllenhaal — the plot's underlying subject matter leaves a lot of room for discussion and debate.

When MTV News caught up with Gyllenhaal recently during the film's press day, we asked him how the idea of occupying someone else's mind for eight minutes appeals to both his sci-fi and philosophical interests.

"First, I was just fascinated with the idea, the concept of what the Source Code was because it felt like the center of the movie is this computer program," Gyllenhaal explained. "So I thought, 'Well, does this hold water?' And then I thought, 'It does because it's a computer program that allows somebody to go into the body of another person for the last eight minutes of their life.' Had it been a computer program that allows somebody to go into somebody else's body, just anybody's body, it wouldn't be interesting, but this plays on the usurping of the electromagnetic impulses in the brain right before somebody dies."

Gyllenhaal went on to say that the idea of going back into a catastrophe and figuring out how it happened was particularly interesting, and he hopes it leaves audiences wanting to explore their own analysis as well.

"It opened up a world of possibilities, philosophically, for me," he revealed. "And psychologically, what effect does this have on the human brain, the person experiencing it, but at the same time, what effect could it have on history and what could it be used for? It was just fascinating: There are a million ideas that come out of it."

Check out everything we've got on "Source Code."

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