Jake Gyllenhaal has made a comeback on the big screen with MMA sensation Conor McGregor in a remake of the 1989 cult classic film, Road House. Even though they spend a lot of time sparring on screen, Gyllenhaal undertook significant training to go toe-to-toe with the latter, who’s already a pro with combat sports.
McGregor is a professional boxer and MMA artist, who has made his feature film debut with this project. The former recently shared his insights on preparing himself to face McGregor on-screen.
Jake Gyllenhaal Talks About Fighting Conor McGregor in Road House Remake
The new action flick revolves around Jake Gyllenhaal‘s character, Elwood Dalton, a former UFC fighter who ends up working at a roadhouse in the Florida Keys. He knocks heads with Conor McGregor who plays the role of Knox.
Given that the latter is a trained professional in combat sports, the former went to extra lengths to prepare himself to confront him on-screen.
When sharing his experience facing McGregor, Gyllenhaal told Access Hollywood during the movie’s New York premiere,
“I think, when you start to get into the physical space like that, when you start to train like that, you start to get confidence in the things you can do.”
He continued,
“Whether that was right or not when you face Connor McGregor for a fake fight that confidence kind of falls to the ground but it’s great.”
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As he undertook substantial preparation for his role, he loved “being in that type of shape.” He asserted, “It was a once in a lifetime experience, honestly, to be there and do that.” Working opposite McGregor wasn’t an easy feat as he had to dedicate himself completely to a full-fledged training module to transform his body.
Jake Gyllenhaal Had to Go Through Grueling Training for the Road House Role
Gyllenhaal’s physical transformation for Dalton was commendable which was a result of his endearing dedication to stick to his full-fledged training. In an interview with Men’s Health, the actor’s long-time trainer, Jason Walsh revealed that the duo worked together for over a year to hone the former’s body.
A whole team was dedicated to taking care of him during his training period to help him accomplish his shredded physique for the role. However, the trainer credited the Wildlife actor for making their efforts successful.
He shared,
“I knew at this point that it takes a village…You can have a great trainer, a great program, great team—none of this matters if you don’t have the right person to do it all. Jake did the work. He earned it.”
They worked on getting his weight down from 205 pounds to 184 pounds while building muscle mass. His workout routine mainly included Mobility Drills, Proteus Motion Machine, Isometrics, Heavy Sled, Safety Bar Squat, Forearm Drills, Offset Loaded Bag Drills, Floor Press, Chain Pushup, Suspension Trainer Push-Pull, Push-Pull Rips and Climber Sprints. He also did Killer Core circuits 2 to 3 times a week to build his shredded abs.
While hitting the gym helped his body to gain that shredded physique, it would have been a difficult task had he not focused on his diet. Fortunately, he didn’t skip meals as he shared,
“In this case, there were things that were taken away, but I had a hell of a lot more calories that I could consume.”
His sincere dedication and intense efforts bore great results as he managed to gain the best possible shape to face his MMA co-star. The Road House is available on Prime Video.
