Actor Jake Gyllenhaal was reportedly hospitalised in Los Angeles on Wednesday (13Nov13) after injuring himself by punching a mirror for a scene in his new film Nightcrawler.

The Brokeback Mountain star, who shed 20 pounds (nine kilograms) to portray a crime reporter in the movie, required stitches for a large gash on his hand.

A source tells People.com, "The scene was emotionally charged and his character was talking into a mirror and he got so into it, he banged his hands against the mirror and it broke and cut him. It was all the scene and not because he was mad about anything else."

However, the 32 year old refused to let the injury delay production for long and returned to work later on Wednesday.

Nightcrawler also features Bill Paxton and Rene Russo, who is married to the film's director, Dan Gilroy.