Is anyone still interested in Jake Gyllenhaal? I’m sure some people are. But isn’t it weird how it seems like he largely dropped out of sight for several years? You know what it was? He dropped off just after the shenanigans with Taylor Swift. That was the beginning of the end. What is painful for me is that Jake actually is/was a decent actor. He could have been a contender. He could have continued to quietly move away from the “disturbed young adult” roles that made him famous and moved into “real adult acting in quality dramas”. But Jake stumbled big time. He tried to be an action star and that failed. He tried to be a romantic hero (on and off the screen) and that failed too as he still has Swifty stank on his image.
Anyway, Jake is still an actor. He’s promoting Prisoners, that ensemble film with Hugh Jackman, Viola Davis and Paul Dano. I think the movie looks stupid, but what do I know? So Jake covers the 10th anniversary issue of VMAN Mag, and the interview is incredibly boring:
On discoveries as an actor: “More and more, I’ve tried to ask myself about myself … that’s one of the reasons I love other actors, I discover what I want to talk about when I begin to exchange with someone else. You constantly stay alive, stay awake, listen to yourself.”
On how he disappeared for a few years: “I made a number of changes in my life … I moved from Los Angeles to New York City, really to be closer to my family, and also – I had made a lot of promises to myself about getting back to theater, which is what I love, and I really wanted to follow that … so I just made this sort of big move out East, which is the opposite move people usually make, and I basically took some time.”
He’s a Method Actor: “Maybe some people can be fooled but I’m not interested in that. I think it’s possible to be intimate in your work. It means asking questions of yourself, it demands trust. And that is scary, because you never know if you are completely safe, and it’s not always pretty but I’m pretty damn sure its the only way to go. I’m looking for the roles that will amount to my expressing as much as possible. What I’m looking for is all sides of myself.”
Prisoners co-star Hugh Jackman on Jake: “What always impressed me about Jake was his steadfast commitment to connection, His work ethic is like mine: he loves to explore, dig and extract every ounce of depth in a scene. He has the courage to follow his instincts and helps create an atmosphere where anything is possible. He is open, always striving for truth and complexity. What he has pulled off in Prisoners is extraordinary.”
Maybe the problem is Hollywood. Maybe the problem is that Hollywood doesn’t really know what to do with an actor like Jake Gyllenhaal. He’s proven that he can’t really be an action star. But I think it’s possible he could find his footing as a romantic lead. He’s incredibly earnest, he can play tragic and vulnerable very well… but Hollywood rarely makes those kinds of movies anymore. And so Jake is in a rut. Maybe it’s good that he’s going back to the theater.
Here’s a trailer for Prisoners:
Photos courtesy of VMAN and WENN.
He might be a hipster wanna be poser, but damn he’s HAWT
Never saw the hot. And who bit off his upper lip? How do you kiss with no lip
Actually, he looks quite good in that in movies
He can totally be an action star – see Source Code.
And then see Moon, cos Sam Worthington.
Duncan Jones… it’s good to be the spawn of Bowie.
Aww Jake. So earnest, so dim. Not that talented but sincere and great wounded puppy eyes . He seems on track to be the new Brendan Fraser. I’m really surprised he hasn’t done a TV series yet.
And that’s a whole lot of tanner in that last photo.
Sorry I think I just drifted off reading his interview 💤💤💤💤💤💤💤
He’s always bored the shit out of me.
Not interesting. He seems totally fake to me, especially in his interviews.
I root for Jake. He seems like a nice guy.
+1
A boring nice guy .
I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one who thinks ‘Prisoners’ looks ridic.
Its actually supposed to be great. Check out the reviews.
Oh god he’s boring. I think the problem is he just looks the same earnest sad self no matter what he does. I can never really believe him in any role.
I think you have a different idea of success – romantic leading man? No. He’s been working steadily and his films are more critically beloved – end of watch was one of the best movies I saw last year. I think he’s just settled into what works best for him and that’s being a character actor. Not everyone can be a proper leading man – seems like it’d be more exhausting anyway
Exactly. I’m not really a fan a fan of his looks and I agree his interviews are sometimes eye-roll inducing but I disagree with the part about his acting career. His career isn’t dead and he is not a failure in an acting world. He is one of the best young actors. Commercial, box office success is not the only way. He is not as popular now as let’s say, Hemsworth, Hiddleston or Cooper, but none of the has as many critically aclaimed roles in their resumes. End of Watch, Donnie Darko and Brokeback Mountain are the best ones, but he was also praised for less popular movies like October Sky, Zodiac, Brothers, Proof and Source Code. Source Code wasn’t that big in the box office but it had 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and Gyllenhaal’s acting was praised in most reviews. I really enjoyed this movie even despite some plot-holes. I’ve also heard only good things about Prisoners so far.
Bradley Cooper has Silver Linings Playbook and The Place Beyond the Pines on his resumé as well as many other upcoming Oscar baity/critic friendly movies so I disagree there.
I agree… End of Watch is an excellent movie. I like the choices he’s made about which movies to act in. Plus, I’m a sucker for those eyes 🙂
He had my heart in Brokeback Mountain, but I didn’t realize he did until the end because Heath had the larger, showier role. But the ending and that one scene of them by the lake towards the end on their fishing trip, all of it, his character just stayed with me after the movie, his naivete and yearning for a little ranch with his love, believing it was possible, not closed off like Heath’s character. I love that movie and love Jake as an actor.
same!
Hold on, so if he’s not an action man or a rom-com darling he’s finished? Don’t worry about him I’m sure he’ll continue to do just fine in the drama category. They can’t all be “stars”, some just want to be actors.
Having said that, he did seem on a totally different track a few years ago and there BOOM – gone! The PR romances and the poison finale that was the Swifty debacle were really bad for him.
Yeah, he was definitely gunning for a movie star career judging from the film choices and showmances. But you can only bomb so many times before Hollywood stops trusting you with their cash.
So look to Jake doing plenty of ensemble films, some indies and lots of hype pieces about what an Artiste he is. Puhlease!
Prince Of Persia…
…ka-BOOM!
Prisoners has actually been getting some really great reviews…
I thought it looked interesting in the trailer, and it made me think about how far I would go in that situation.
I saw some good reviews for Prisoners out of Telluride, too. I’m not a fan of his, but I root for any movie that’s not more action or superhero crap. He’s a good actor, but he’s just not trendy anymore. In the end, he will probably have a better body of work than the current flavours of the month.
True, many already say it’s the performance of their careers for both Jake and Hugh. I actually had high hopes for the movie since it was announced, since Incendies, by the same director, was truly marvelous.
All I will EVER see is Bubble Boy. Just…..no.
500 Dollars! 500 Dollars!! that part always cracks me up.
LMAO!!!! 😉
I think he’s a decent actor but I don’t think I’d buy him as a romantic lead, although he wasn’t bad in the movie with Hathaway.
I’ve always kind of liked him, he seems like a nice, quiet guy. More character actor than blockbuster leading man.
As long as he puts in decent performances, I will always be interested in him on screen. Donnie Darko and Zodiac cannot be erased. I too think he is a decent actor and as long as he sticks to that, I won’t write him off completely.
He should do something for me, but he just doesn’t! Solid character actor definitely but lacking that leading man “it”. Sadly he is probably as or more talented than many of the guys in his age group, he just lacks a certain something.
I still can’t believe he was first runner up for Batman after Christian Bale! I mean….what?!
Romantic hero or action star are the only options for stardom?
Well, that’s 90% of Hollywood told. Stop making comedies or drama or any other genre if you want to be a star.
I guess Jake is more of an actor’s actor and beloved by critics/niche.
I thought that Prisoners movie looked super super stupid and cheesy too, but apparently it’s really good? Whatever I won’t see it. Don’t care about Jake anymore either.
This reminds me of that line in Austin Powers…
“Allow myself to introduce…myself…”
I’ve always thought he looks like KD Lang with a beard. Look at a pic of them side by side. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it…
Has he lost a lot of weight? His face looks different to me, and not in a good way.
I think he’s a good actor who’s made some bad choices, but also some interesting ones that got lost in the shuffle. I can’t blame him for going the action route because that’s what Hollywood is making, and those are seen by more people than his smaller movies. And I don’t get dismissing him as an actor with ‘He’s not a star’ or ‘He should be on television’ when some of the best actors aren’t ‘stars’ and some of the best work is on television these days.
I’m sorry he just seems like an idiot. wtf does that first quote even mean? you talk to another actor and you discover what you want to say? its called a conversation dude.
I dont have much patience for such pretention this early in the morning. sigh. is it friday yet?
More and more, I’ve tried to ask myself about myself
Imo, this is the root of the problem with Hollywood, right here. People who are so obsessed with their own bellybuttons that they forget there’s a world outside. You can’t create anything worthwhile if the only person you know is you.
I agree with you 100%. I dont know how anyone can actually say something like that out loud and not be embarrassed.
Yep. I need to be admitted to hospital as my corneas cannot become unstuck from my retinas without serious medical intervention.
He’s had a very successful career as a character actor, working with some good directors/co-stars in critically acclaimed films.
The problem is that he failed spectacularly at trying to be a Movie Star. He made his big sci-fi franchise grab at the wrong time, with the wrong film. Now he’s gone back to smaller, character-driven films that haven’t set the box office on fire but have been critically well received: Source Code, End of Watch (which is a GREAT film), and Prisoners. He has a career that 98% of actors with a SAG card would kill for- it’s just that he’s more famous than his level of film roles, so it looks like “failure.”
Agree! The quote about asking myself about myself is a bit navel-gazing but I don’t think he’s boring just reserved. I like him as an actor and although he’s not on my ‘yummy list.’ I’ve always had a soft spot for him.
Why do so many actors think they can and want to be a leading man?!! Why does Hollywood try to make them the lead. Some people are best suited as supporting or character actors. And Jake is one of them. He is not interesting enough and does not have the acting chops to be the lead, he can’t open a movie and he is better in small quantities, but it’s now proven, not the lead. Unlike other careers, I think actors rarely have people telling them “you are best doing this ____, but not so good at ___” they need job evaluations like the rest of us have LOL!!
Why does anyone aspire to take on more challenges, get more experience and exposure, and make more money? Trying to make a living as an actor is in and of itself a risky proposition. They are probably used to taking more risks than the average person.
Actors get evaluated all the time and, unlike for most of us, those evaluations are very public.
There are actors who have been designated as ‘leads’ or ‘stars’ who aren’t as talented as those who have been labeled as ‘character’ or ‘supporting’ actors. There are ‘character’ actors who have had magnificent star turns in leading roles.
Box office is not always a good indicator of quality or talent. Being in good movies doesn’t automatically mean they’re great actors. There’s often a lot of luck, politics, and hustle involved in making someone a ‘star’.
Yay! Paul Dano mentioned here. Next I want pictures from the premieres!
Prisoners was a pretty good film – it’s one of those films where I thought the acting was better than the story tbh. Jake was really good in it, one of the best performances I’ve seen him give. I think the problem is that Hollywood is transitioning to these big comic book blockbusters and you need guys like Chris Hemsworth, and Jake belongs to an older school of actors (Clooney, Dicaprio) in terms of acting style. He should move to Europe, the emphasis on character dramas there would suit him more.
How about this quote?
“I believe deeply in the reality of the light and dark side of things and everything in between.”
Wow. Dim for sure.
JG is an excellent actor and nothing has passed him by at all. He’s going to have a very long and interesting career.
Jake is good enough and comfortable enough to live for Jake. He’s a real artist who doesn’t think “Academy Awards” every time he selects a role. He’s committed to challenging himself and that’s what real artists do. If you aren’t pleased with his commercial success, that’s your problem. Not his. I think he is smart, courageous and wonderful.
Unffff. The things I’d do to him…and toss JGL in the mix and this momma’d be in heaven.
He gets better with time. Yum.