Monday
Dec012014
10 Questions I had while staring at that pic of Jake Gyllenhaal
Monday, December 1, 2014 at 9:39AM Manuel here voicing the various queries I had upon staring at this new pic from Jake Gyllenhaal’s upcoming Antoine Fuqua directed flick, Southpaw.
- Did the Prince of Persia get on a shredding regimen?
- Is Jake the new Christian Bale in terms of weight loss/gain yo-yoing?
- A troubled teenager, a paranoid reporter, a gay cowboy, an easily scared interviewee, a James Baldwin connoissieur, and now a jacked middleweight champion; is there anything Jake can’t do?
- Is Jake still this ripped? Will he look like this as he makes his Broadway debut?
Related: do you think the Gyllenhaal siblings made it a point to be on Broadway at the same time? - Between Prisoners, Enemy, Nightcrawler and now Southpaw, will we need to come up with a portmanteau for his resurgence? Jakeaissance? Gyllenhawakening?
- Where are his co-stars Naomie Harris and Rachel McAdams?
- Related: why does IMDb’s “star meter” (also: what is IMDb’s star meter?) rank McAdams higher than Gyllenhaal in the Southpaw credits?
- Will Fuqua’s Southpaw follows the likes of The Fighter, The Wrestler, Ali, Million Dollar Baby, Rocky and Raging Bull at the Oscars and nab Jake a nomination? Weinstein is behind the pic so Oscar is bound to factor into the conversation to some extent.
- Is this Jake’s version of stealth campaigning, showcasing his range after picking up an Indie Spirit nom for Nightcrawler?
- And of course, I can’t not leave you with this question from Glenn:
Would you rather Jake Gyllenhaal in NIGHTCRAWLER or SOUTHPAW? I'm actually not sure I know my own answer.
— Glenn Dunks (@glenndunks) November 30, 2014
I honestly would stick with Jarhead Jake, but I’m curious where everyone else lies: do you like Gyllenhaal’s latest look? I can’t be the only Gyllenhaalic in the room so, do you have any answers for my questions above?
Reader Comments (23)
Neither. I'll take Brokeback Mountain or Donnie Darko Jake. He looks way creepy in Nightcrawler but he was amazing in it.
I will suck him dry, I don't care what character he is.
Brokeback Jake, all the way.
Manuel: Why? Maybe I'd buy it around 04-06 after that "something for everyone" four film perfect storm that was Mean Girls, The Notebook, Wedding Crashers and Red Eye. But yes, at this moment McAdams trumping Jake Gyllenhaal is crazy.
vovalgia & manuel -- Mcadams still glowing luster (people always act like she's a bonafide A-lister) is one of the great unsolvable mysteries of the film universe. She has done very *very* little to warrant continued confidence/interest.
i'm voting for Jake in Nightcrawler because the hungry look is far sexier than the i can snip you like a twig with my gargantuan muscles (at least to me it is)
Strictly appearance-wise, I think Love & Other Drugs is Peak Jake.
End of Watch Jake for me. Followed by JarHead.
He sure is pushing the "I am a real boy see me hurt myself!" Actor thing really far (I tazed myself for end of watch!). Also gotta go with Donnie Darko Jake, but of the two given hungry and desperate insomniac trumps icky angry beefcake.
Of the two, I'd go with Nightcrawler Jake. Nightcrawler Jake creeps me out, but not as much as Steroid Jake.
Top five Gyllenlooks: Brokeback, Love & Other Drugs, Zodiac, Enemy, The Day After Tomorrow
I'm a fan of McAdams, but even *I* don't understand her place in Hollywood right now. Not that I don't think she deserves success, but how many actors can say they've had as many second chances as her? Nathaniel - I have continued interest in her as an actress, but am equally mystified as to this interest being perpetuated by all and sundry.
For Jake, I'm going to say Love & Other Drugs. Not just for the nudity (well, not only just), but because his giddy physicality in that role makes me wish that he and Hathaway (who also gives a great performance, albeit in a pretty different movie) get to take another stab at a rom-com together somewhere down the line.
That photo of Jake makes me distance myself from it. I admire that he's so game to challenge himself. But sometimes I wonder if he has poor judgement sometimes, and that makes him vulnerable.
Rachel McAdams seems to have a good reputation because of her attitude when working. She has worked with some thorny personalities, difficult and demanding, and gotten along just fine. She gives the impression of always being willing to learn, learning from those artists who are better than her, and having a solid craftsman like attitude. That makes people think she's in it for the long run.
Obviously we'd all prefer LOVE & OTHER DRUGS/BROKEBACK/ZODIAC Jake, but of his swinging body type roles... see, I still don't know. I mean, his face (when he's not grimmacing and shouting) is probably still the same in his shredded SOUTHPAW mode, but, to quite Guy Ritchie, he probably feels like "gristle", plus I worry he's used steroids and... well, you know. That or he'd be the fussiest god damn eater. "I can only eat one boiled chicken breast and a watercress salad no dressing", to get that lean.
Why are people always so fascinated with this shape shifting stuff? Did it all start with De Niro in Raging Bull? I would love to go in watching a performance without being so acutely aware of what an actor/actress had to do to look the way they do onscreen. Maybe the media is to blame for this overexposure regarding weight loss/gain for actors? Either way, it really distances me from the performance. I see that pic above and can only help but wonder what sort of terrible, overly intense, steroid-dependent regimen Jake had to undertake to look like that? And that's probably what I'll be thinking about the whole time I'm watching the movie.
I'll take Enemy Jake. Both of him.
Hope the goodwill toward him continues witrh back to back Oscar noms.
Jarhead Jake 4 evah
(But I can't quit Brokeback Jake or the Love and Other Drugs, Brothers, Prince of Persia and Source Code Jakes...)
Ewwww, shredded up Jakey is not to my liking whatsoever. #SorryNotSorry
Give me Jack Twist-era Gyllenhaal, please!
He looks like Mickey Rourke with the leathery skin -- he got ragged looking too quick from all the yo-yo'ing.
Brokeback /Jarhead Jake was the best of both worlds
It's Prisoners Jake for me. That hair! I'd make mischief with Detective Loki.
I'm thinking a four-way with End of Watch Jake, Nightcrawler Jake, steroid Jake, and maybe ole Marsha to top it off.
These comments are overwhelming. So many Jakes to choose from.
Except whoever said Prisoners Jake. Totally don't get that one. But to each his own Jake(s).
OMG Jarhead Jake, no contest for me.
I was fanning myself the entire time in the theater with that one. Plus it's the one where he's showing it all off the most... so we all win, really.