When an actor takes up a project, they may have to do some very specific things to get into their role. Many actors have gone to extreme lengths to get into character, from simply changing their hair color to drastically changing their physical appearance. These changes also make fans deeply invested.
Jake Gyllenhaal is one of the most well-known and talented actors of the current times, having starred in massive projects like Brokeback Mountain, Prisoners, Nightcrawler, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and his upcoming movie, Road House. He is also well known for his work in the 2015 movie, Southpaw, which required him to go through an extensive and challenging physical transformation.
How Did Jake Gyllenhaal Prepare For His Role in Southpaw?
Jake Gyllenhaal talked in quite a lot of detail about his process for getting into shape during the press tour of the movie, Southpaw. The actor had to do some very intensive training as he mentioned during an interview for South Paw. To call his workout routine extensive would be an understatement.
“I trained twice a day for five months. I started at three miles and eventually, I was running eight miles. I would go and work out for two hours doing mitt work, heavy bag, and speed bags.” He then continued, “Over five months, every single day, twice a day you just start learning the techniques. It took me two months to get the speed bag and feel confident with the speed bag.”
He revealed that he would have to train twice a day for the duration of filming, where he would start by running, slowly at first by running three miles a day and eventually increasing the distance to nine miles as the months went on. He would also do intense workouts for two hours. He also mentioned that this training, though challenging at times, helped him learn how to move like a boxer and play his character more authentically.
Jake Gyllenhaal’s Workout Routine for Southpaw Is Not Recommended By Trainers
During a 2020 interview with Men’s Health, it was revealed that this was only the tip of the ice breg of Jake Gyllenhaal’s preparation for the role. The actor ended up gaining 15 lbs of muscle for his role as Hope in Southpaw. Director Antoine Fuqua even revealed that the actor was basically a fighter by the end of filming, admiring Gyllenhaal’s dedication to his craft.
It was also revealed that the actor worked out for six hours every day. He would also do skipping, sit-ups, boxing, and weight training extensively. He would also flip a 160kg tire regularly and beat that with a 10kg sledgehammer.
“Training seven days a week in any capacity is more likely to break you down than build you up,” Hanrahan explained to Esquire UK. “Even the fittest athletes know the value of rest to repair and rebuild.”
Hollywood PT and mobility coach Jack Hanrahan recommended no one to train this extensively, stating that working out this intensely is more likely to cause damage that helps one to get the result they want. He mentioned that breaks in between are important to avoid something bad happening.
Source: The Things
