Jake Gyllenhaal Is A Beast In ‘Southpaw,’ Says Rachel McAdams
It’s only May and people are already buzzing about Jake Gyllenhaal’s Oscar chances for the boxing film Southpaw. Even before the trailer hit the internet, people were going nuts over the star’s dramatically different physical appearance.
Now his co-star in Southpaw has confirmed that Gyllenhaal is a beast in the film.
“I was a little scared too! He’s a beast. He’s a real animal. I haven’t seen it yet so I can’t totally comment but just watching from the sidelines he just worked so hard. I think his work is going to reflect that. It was extraordinary.”
She’s not exaggerating either. It’s reported that Gyllenhaal was serious about getting in shape for Southpaw. How serious was he? Well, it’s said that he put himself through six-hour workouts, doing 2,000 sit ups, and gained a whole lot of muscle to portray a boxer.
Co-star McAdams, who plays his wife in the film, continued to speak about how Jake Gyllenhaal got in shape even during filming.
“He’d get up in the morning and run eight miles and then run twice a day and then rehearse. He was a machine, and I was just filing my nails pretending not to notice. No, it was great.”
Don’t believe us? Just take a look for yourself.
Jake Gyllenhaal’s boxing movie #Southpaw got a star-studded private screening at #Cannes http://t.co/7ogJyfjP3t pic.twitter.com/Hhaq633xMe
— Variety (@Variety) May 24, 2015
Southpaw’s synopsis is as follows.
“Billy ‘The Great’ Hope, the world’s reigning Light Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World, has an impressive career, a loving wife and daughter, and a lavish lifestyle. However, when a tragedy knocks Billy for a loop, he finds himself at rock-bottom. Billy finds an unlikely savior in Tick Willis (Forest Whitaker), a former fighter who currently trains the toughest amateur boxers around. With his future on the line, Billy fights to reclaim the trust of those he loves the most.”
Jake Gyllenhaal detailed how he got back in shape for the film. The actor, who was on hand for the Cannes Film Festival as a jury member, told People Magazine about his journey to becoming a professional boxing champ.
“I knew very little about the science, the techniques of boxing before we started. My thought was, if I trained twice a day, I can make five months, 10 months [of training]. That’s what we did. I spent all my time surrounded by Antoine [Fuqua, the director], my trainer and [the fighters] I was boxing with.”
Gyllenhaal’s trainer, Terry Claybon, said of his physical transformation, “He gained 15 lbs. of muscle, but when you see the fight scenes in the movie you’re going to say, ‘Wow he transformed! He looks just like a boxer, he boxes like a boxer.’ We trained Jake just like a boxer and his body developed that way.”
[Image via Columbia Pictures]
