Jake Gyllenhaal is no stranger to challenging himself as an actor, which has deservedly earned him the status of one of the most acclaimed actors working in Hollywood. From Donnie Darko to Nightcrawler, the actor hasn’t failed to do justice to the material he is given, but for the crime drama The Guilty, the Far From Home Star pushed himself even further.
Following his second collaboration with director Antoine Fuqua, with the first one being 2015’s Southpaw, Gyllenhaal once again challenged himself as an actor, which ended up taking a toll on him.
Filming The Guilty Within 11 Days Was Pretty Taxing for Jake Gyllenhaal
Considering COVID was at an all-time high back in 2021, Antoine Fuqua and the crew had a pretty short window to wrap up the filming process for the spy thriller. This resulted in them shooting the entire film within just 11 days, which was incredibly taxing for the crew, especially lead Jake Gyllenhaal. Speaking with Lady Gaga on Variety’s Actors on Actors, the actor recounted the tiring process, explaining that they had to shoot 20 pages of script each day.
While the initial days of filming were pretty overwhelming for the actor, things eventually paid off, as Gyllenhaal was quite content with the end product. He told Gaga:
“In the process, Antoine Fuqua, who directed the film, decided 20 pages a day of the script. And he was like, we’re not turning back. You get your shots, and then we go on to the next… And I remember at day three or four going, I want to go back, to paint maybe a different angle or a different edge on something. And I couldn’t.”
The short duration did end up benefiting the Fuqua-led project in various manners, as it helped elevate the intensity of the crime thriller.
Jake Gyllenhaal’s First Collaboration With Antoine Fuqua Wasn’t Easy
While it was COVID that plagued the production of The Guilty, Jake Gyllenhaal also didn’t have a great time working with Antoine Fuqua the first time. Although he succeeded in attaining the perfect physique and even got a few boxing lessons under his belt, the second week of shooting turned out detrimental for him, as he took a real blow to the face. The actor recalled the jarring incident on the sets of Southpaw while speaking to US Weekly (via The New York Post), stating,
“I will tell you this: There was that initial [hit]. It was the first time I really got hit. It was this moment where I think you ask yourself what you’re trying to experience.”
Fortunately, despite the crew members’ fear that the Prisoners Star might fail to continue shooting, Gyllenhaal went on to complete the filming process and did an impeccable job as Billy Hope.
The Guilty is available to stream on Netflix.
