Gyllenhaal Shunned Original Criminal Movie

Maggie Gyllenhaal refused to watch the original film which inspired her latest movie Criminal, as believed it would be "destructive" to her performance.

The 27-year-old actress is still reluctant to view the Argentine hit NINE QUEENS - which the scam story is based on - as she wanted to stick to her own interpretation of playing VALERIE.

She says, "No, I hadn't - and I intentionally didn't see it when we were working on it.

"I guess I told myself it won't help me to see someone else's interpretation, but truthfully I don't like thinking of the movie as a remake.

"It's such a destructive way to think of something artistic. And I still haven't seen it."

As for agreeing to appear in the remake, she explains, "To be honest, I worked for nine days and I just thought it would be interesting.

"Which is not at all how I choose anymore - I've got burned that way, a little bit. But this one, I instinctively just went, 'Ok, that'll be interesting'."