Duncan Jones thinks Jake Gyllenhaal is incredibly talented

Jake Gyllenhaal as Colter Stevens in "Source Code" (2011)

"-Why did you go with Source Code? You were juggling a lot of potential projects at the time, and you ended up choosing this one. What was it about Source Code that brought you in?
-The main reason I did it is that I wanted the opportunity to work with Jake Gyllenhaal. Like Sam Rockwell I think he’s one of those actors who is incredibly talented at who at the time – since then he’s done Prince of Persia and that – but at the time I thought he was a leading man who was funny and smart and handsome and had the talent to pull off any part.I had a chance to meet with Jake and at that time I was, as I usually am, I was trying to convince him to do one of my crazy projects, and he said “You know what, I’d like you to come on this film that I’m working on right now,” which was Source Code. I read it and thought it was really good and it would give me a chance to work with Jake on his turf, and hopefully if I do a good job and he enjoyed the process I can grab him to come and work on one of my films today.
New publicity still of Jake Gyllenhaal in "Source Code" (2011)

-What is it that sets Source Code apart from the films in the subgenre of time loops, like 12 Monkeys, or manufactured realities, like The Matrix?

-When I first read it I said to Jake, “There’s a lot of heavy, serious scifi out there – let’s try to find opportunities to bring lightness.”Still of Sam Rockwell in "Moon" (2009)

-Having worked with Sam on Moon he taught me that you could get as heavy as you want as long as you intersperse it with lighter moments. They make the heavy, darker moments hit harder. That was my approach on Source Code: This is all very heavy and serious, so let’s find places to inject humor and a little bit of surrealness to the proceedings. Let’s make it feel different. One of the things I’m really happy about is that Jake’s performance really does have those Indiana Jones kind of moments, where you see that slyness of a leading man who is a little bit out of his depth but always finds ways to deal with the situation.
Jake Gyllenhaal, Duncan Jones and Michelle Monaghan on the set of Source Code.

-Is this a puzzle movie? Is this the kind of movie where, when we watch it a second time, we’ll be seeing stuff in a whole new light?

-It’s a thriller. Obviously it’s got science fiction elements, but it’s kind of a traditional thriller in many ways.
It’s certainly different from Inception. We definitely have much more of a lightness of touch, and that’s definitely by design. While there are things that you’ll pick up on a second viewing, but for me it’s much more straightforward than Inception. But it is certainly deeper than most Hollywood science fiction films, so we hit that middle ground". Source: www.badassdigest.com