Jake Gyllenhaal: so who's this newcomer holding his own against hollywood big-timers?

SUSAN SARANDON: Here's the scene: We're at a Manhattan restaurant named Man Ray and we're in the ladies' room because the tape recorder only works with a cord and this is the quietest place to plug it in. So Jake, now that we're comfy, let's cut to the chase--you've got some movies coming up.

JAKE GYLLENHAAL: Three. [a woman enters]

WOMAN: Oh, hello!

SS: Hello. You can come in. Don't mind us, we're just doing an interview.

WOMAN: You're doing an interview? Are you going to listen to me pee?

JG: Sorry.

SS: We'll talk really loud.

WOMAN: Oh, that's so funny. That's OK.

SS AND JG: OK. [both laugh]

JG: Anyway, I've got three movies coming out, and the third one is our movie together, Moonlight Mile.

SS: Gotcha. And the one before that?

JG: It's called The Good Girl.

SS: And who's in it?

JG: Jennifer Aniston.

SS: Excellent. What is the theme of that one, in a nutshell?

JG: It's about a woman who lives in this small town in the middle of America. Her life is getting her down and she's trying to have a child with her husband and she and I meet and have a crazy, rampaging love affair.

SS: And the first movie?

JG: It's Lovely & Amazing with Catherine Keener and Brenda Blethyn. I have another affair, this time with Catherine Keener.

SS: Well, that sounds good--

WOMAN: -- I want to hear about the interview.

SS: He's got three movies coming out.

WOMAN: Cool. [a second woman enters]

SECOND WOMAN: Oopsl

SS: No, you're in the right place. We're just doing an interview.

FIRST WOMAN: It's OK. They're just having an interview. [laughs and exits]

SECOND WOMAN: Do you mind if I send my girlfriends in? They're really into this stuff. They're very pretty blondes, so you won't mind.

JG: Very pretty blondes?

SS: Sure, he won't mind. But don't tell everyone or we'll get mobbed.

JG: So this is what it's like in a ladies' bathroom.

SECOND WOMAN: What is your name?

JG: My name's Jake.

SS: Jake Gyllenhaal.

SECOND WOMAN: Are you a producer or are you a writer?

JG: I'm an actor.

SECOND WOMAN: Oh, I'm sorry.

JG: Now you won't send your girlfriends in.

SECOND WOMAN: [laughs] No, I'm really bad with that kind of stuff, but they'll know you.

SS: [laughs] They will, because he's the Next Big Thing.

SECOND WOMAN: This is so exciting. Someday I'm going to say, "I met him in the bathroom." [exits]

SS: So, when do all your movies come out?

JG: Lovely & Amazing will have opened by the time this article comes out, The Good Girl comes out August 7, and then our movie opens September 20. (Moonlight Mile co-star] Dustin [Hoffman] came to my play [This is Our Youth, which Gyllenhaal performed earlier this year in London], you know. He came to the third preview and gave me notes afterwards.

SS: How fabulous! Was he helpful?

JG: Really helpful. He didn't call me--he just came to the play. In the middle of the intermission, the fireman who watches over the theater came in and said, "Dustin Hoffman is in the audience." I was so nervous I ended up hamming up the second act. [a third woman enters]

JG: Robin?

THIRD WOMAN: Excuse me, do you know Robin?

THIRD WOMAN: She told me to meet a guy in here.

SS: Oh, yes. We just met her. She said she was sending in a few people.

THIRD WOMAN: Yeah, she sent me. I wanted to come in and say hi.

JG: Hi. What's your name?

THIRD WOMAN: Nicole.

JG: Hey, Nicole. I'm Jake.

NICOLE: Hi, Robin's my mom, so ... [laughs] anyway... OK. Bye. [exits]

JG: Bye.

SS: Bye. So which do you like doing better, theater or film?

JG: I've only done this play, so--

SS: --I always say the difference between doing theater and doing film is like the difference between making love and masturbation. In film you are isolating one little moment almost by yourself, and in theater you have a relationship, for better or worse.

JG: [laughs] Theater has given me a different perspective on the way I approach films.

SS: I bet you're braver. (a waiter enters]

WAITER: I'm sorry to disturb you, but may I get you something to drink?

JG: We're fine. [laughs]

WAITER: Sure?

SS: We're fine, thank you. (Waiter exits] Do you find sometimes that you're attracted to certain material because of what you're going through in your life? Or when choosing material, do you think about what it will accomplish in terms of your career?

JG: I think that more and more there's a sense that the best performances I can give are the ones that are the truest to who I am. The further I move away from who I am, the worse they are.

SS: So you don't see yourself as a character actor?

JG: No. And I think the closer I get to myself, the wider the spectrum of what I can play.

SS: You mean the closer you get to yourself, you start to discover your own voice and you get closer to the characters you play.

JG: Yes. I think that we all have within us the potential for almost anything. If we pay close attention to our lives, then we can get at it somehow. Susan, I have a question for you: How can you can keep doing this for the rest of your life?