When Jake Gyllenhaal revealed how he got in perfect shape for Southpaw in just 5 months
Jake Gyllenhaal is playing a UFC fighter on Road House but he underwent an even drastic transformation for Southpaw in 2014.
Jake Gyllenhaal is in news again, thanks to his Prime Video release Road House. The actor plays a UFC fighter in the movie, which is a remake of a 1989 film starring Patrick Swayze. For the film, Jake had to get into impeccable shape but this isn't something new for him. (Also read: Jake Gyllenhaal says it was ‘pretty cool’ when Christopher Nolan personally called him to say he lost Batman role)
Southpaw transformation
Back in 2014, Jake had undergone are far more drastic transformation for Southpaw. The film starred Jake as a boxer with anger issues and Jake took just over five months to get into perfect shape for the movie. He spoke about it during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show.
Joined on the red couch by Arnold Schwazenegger and Emilia Clarke, who were on the show to promote Terminator Genisys, Jake spoke about his transformation. Arnold mention how Jake got ‘ripped’ for the movie. “That goal was to learn how to box. I didn't know how to box before I started this movie. So I went and I learned the methodology and the techniques of boxing yet and then slowly and slowly got into shape. It was a pretty slow progression over five months where you know, by the end, we trained up to the first part of shooting was all the fights so I trained up to the beginning of shooting which was all fights.”
Watch the clip here:
About Road House
Road House released on Prime Video on March 21. Speaking to ScreenRant, Jake said, ‘When I was a kid, I remember seeing the Road House poster, and it being so intriguing to me as an original idea. And at some point, maybe on television, I remember seeing clips of it, and it was also sparking interest. It really had a strange, intense resonance. And I was of an age when I didn’t really know what exactly it was that I was watching."
In this new take, Gyllenhaal stars as a former UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) middleweight fighter who ends up working at a roadhouse, an old-fashioned term for a small bar on the main road in a city or town.
The 43-year-old actor underwent a gruelling workout regime to get in shape for the movie, in which he is pitted against world famous professional mixed martial artist (MMA) and boxer, Connor McGregor.