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JAKE
GYLLENHAAL
It would be hard to find a more serious and articulate observer of his profession than Jake Gyllenhaal. He answers every question with deep consideration and is keenly aware of the inflated status of actors in the context of modern celebrity culture. Yet he also believes in the importance of film in its ability to reach people and explore the human condition, meaningful issues and critical events.
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sumptuous stint of commercial successes on the big screen – culminating in 2019’s SpiderMan: Far From Home – set the 41-year-old actor up for something of a hiatus, yet he has roared back in the past year with an undertaking of projects, as both actor and producer, that appears catastrophically large. Gyllenhaal’s upcoming list of appointments – projects either announced, rumoured or in pre-production – are well into double figures, ranging from thrillers (The Interpreter, The Division, Road House, Snow Blind), drama (Francis and the
128 / JULY 2022 ESSENTIAL MAGAZINE
Godfather), through to all-action fodder (The Anarchists vs ISIS and Combat Control). There are also two miniseries thrown into the mix – The Son, in which he plays an escaped convict; and Lake Success, where he embodies Barry Cohen, a hedge fund manager looking to break free from the shackles of humdrum. Gyllenhaal even recently switched back to theatre mode, playing the lead role in Sunday in the Park with George at the Savoy Theatre. The actor is clearly hungry for more, refusing to subscribe purely to box office spectaculars. He is at a stage in
his career when it seems he has little to prove… and if there is something, it’s purely to himself. Is fighting convention something you’ve tried to do during your life and career? I think we’re all always fighting convention in a way or we’re not and then we succumb to that. Ultimately all that matters is what you as an individual believe in regardless of what other people tell you you should believe. I guess in a way that’s something I’m trying to do as an artist, but all human beings should be doing that because if we did, we’d have a totally different world. ›
