14 DAY TRIAL // Jake Gyllenhaal’s most recent 2 movies see him go from one extreme to the other: for “Nightcrawler,” he lost so much weight he became a mere shadow of himself, and in “Southpaw,” he will look like the professional boxer he plays.
Gyllenhaal, who has been getting serious Oscar buzz since “Nightcrawler,” believes physically immersing himself in the role allows him a better understanding of the character he plays. He would never consider doing a movie unless he could connect to the character on all levels.
Jake does Esquire, elaborates
For “Southpaw,” which comes out in July and was directed by Antoine Fuqua, Gyllenhaal had to gain all the weight he’d lost for “Nightcrawler” back and then put on about 15 pounds (6.8 kg) of pure muscle.
This wasn’t an easy feat and he trained for 6 hours daily for 6 full months to get that boxer’s physique. From what we can make from the official trailer (see below), it was well worth the effort.
Gyllenhaal plays Junior Middleweight Champion Billy “The Great” Hope, who, after the death of his wife, is so lost that he can’t even be a father to his daughter anymore. He finds motivation again in the discipline of boxing, as he attempts to get back in the ring and reclaim everything he’s lost.
Speaking with Esquire Magazine, whose cover he graces for the July 2015 issue, the actor says that physicality is always an important aspect of any role he takes on. It’s also pretty relative.
“Physicality is a way into the mental state of a character. I get off on knowing that my energy has shifted. My technical side is going, ‘Yeah, you’re a bit of a maniac, but you know how to keep it in check.’ But it’s not like this huge deal,” he says. “It’s that Louis CK thing, [about] when people say they’re ‘starving.’ Maybe you should rethink that word? You had a meal four hours ago!”
Gyllenhaal was never the kind to complain to the press about how difficult or intense preparation for a role was, so it’s not like he would have said anything along those lines.
Commitment, talent and the promise of awards
However, we know from director Fuqua and personal trainer Terry Claybon, who spoke to the media a while back, that Gyllenhaal’s regime was anything but a walk in the park.
He was at the gym trainer for so much time that his then-girlfriend broke up with him. He would train like an actual boxer (as opposed to an actor trying to pass for a boxer) and he was injured a lot. He did his best to come the closest thing to a real-life boxer.
The critics community is paying attention: Gyllenhaal has a long and impressive resume, but his most recent films (“End of Watch,” “Prisoners,” “Enemy” and “Nightcrawler”) have helped him move from his rom-com past into more “serious” acting.
These films might not have been box office smashing hits, but they established him as one of the most talented actors of his generation - and the fact that he’s willing to commit to go fully Method for a role is turning him into a favorite for the awards shows.
As we speak, there’s plenty of buzz about how “Southpaw” might do for him what “Nightcrawler” failed to do: land him a Best Actor nomination at the Oscars. We’ll see.
