OH my God! Jake Gyllenhaal hugged me. Three times. Okay, technically it was a side hug … the kind you do when you take a picture together … but still, three times! That’s three times more than most people in the world could say they have.

Before I ramble on about how Jake side-hugged me, three times, let me tell you how it all happened.

Last week, I was on assignment in London to cover the promotional event of Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time. Together with other reporters from around the world, I got to interview Jake and his fellow cast members, Gemma Arterton and Ben Kingsley, as well as the film’s director, Mike Newell.

Yup, I got to hug all that.

I wasn’t nervous during the roundtable interview sessions, but I was feeling uncomfortable and unwell. I caught a nasty cough before flying off to London, and was coughing violently throughout my assignment there. 

The first to walk the interview room was Gemma, whom I thought was fabulously super exotic in Prince Of Persia. In person, Gemma is erm … ordinary – and that’s me being kind.

There was a Polish reporter in the same room who was way prettier and hotter than the actress; Gemma looked like just another British girl next to her!

A scene from Prince of Persia where Gemma Arterton was looking a bit more exotic than she is in person.

In fact, that’s just what Gemma was – another girl. She’s no Hollywood diva with a stinky attitude and I was surprised at how down-to-earth she was.

Well, one reporter did point out that Gemma is indeed an actress and she could very well be playing the “good girl” part in front of us. But I beg to differ.

Gemma did have one diva moment earlier on, though. Her representative requested that no one asked for a photograph with the actress. Okay, most celebrities would make that same request during interviews, I’m just being mean for no reason. She’s nice and so was Ben Kingsley.

Ben was deep and insightful, though half the time I could only focus on his abnormally large nose. Yes, I know I sound totally juvenile but seriously, I couldn’t stop staring at that huge block of flesh right smack in the middle of his face.

Do you see the head attached to that nose?? That's Sir Ben Kingsley and his wife, btw.

He spoke passionately about his work and family and was obviously proud of everything he has done in his past, though he couldn’t pick a favourite.
But let’s get right to the main “item” here – Jake – and how he hugged me over and over again.

When Jake walked into the room, he immediately took our breath away. Not lying. That boy is sure prettier in person than he is on-screen. Not lying, again.

A reporter from Finland broke the ice by giving him a hideous (in her own words) scarf, which he accepted gracefully, and then he proceeded to ask where we all are from.

I answered, breathlessly (I mean literally since I couldn’t breathe because of my cough) “Malaysia,” and looking right into my eyes, Jake said: “Nice.”
I don’t know what he really meant by that but I’ll just assume that it means that he loves me and our country, alright?

Jake was super funny, casual and put us all at ease immediately. He was friendly, spoke animatedly about his character in the movie and even got quite emotional when talking about his sister, Maggie. Aww … what a sweetheart.

Once the interview was over and he got up to leave, I quickly jumped at the opportunity to take a photo with him. The reporter who helped take my first photo with Jake obviously has never operated a camera before, because the picture came out all blurry.

Shamelessly, I asked for another photo with Jake, and he obliged, and this time I was smart enough to give the camera to another reporter. The picture came out blurry as well.

Okay, third time’s the charm I thought as I told Jake “We MUST take another photo,” which we did and no, it’s not any better than the first two. Sorry guys.

Oh well, you can still see in the photograph that it’s Jake on the left and me on the right and ladies and gentlemen, that’s the story of how Jake Gyllenhaal hugged me … three times.

Sharm says: Jake loves me …*blush*