If you listened to my interview with Jake Gyllenhaal, discussing his preparation for Nightcrawler, the first look photo above of him playing a professional boxer in Antoine Fuqua‘s Southpaw won’t come as much of a surprise. You’re already well aware of just how much he prepares and gets involved with his roles.
Speaking with Deadline with regards to Gyllenhaal’s ripped physique, Fuqua said, “Jake is going to change how people see him. I had him training twice a day in the boxing ring, he did two-a-days seven days a week.”
Gyllenhaal lost 30 pounds for his role in Nightcrawler and clearly had to beef up after that for his role in Southpaw. Speaking with Variety earlier this year his trainer Terry Claybon said, “We made a deal, if you’re going to learn how to box, you’re going to have to get in there and act like a boxer.”
Fuqua adds to that saying, “I asked this guy from day one, ‘I need you in the gym every day. I need you to train every day.’ And I said, ‘The word is sacrifice.’ Literally. I think he broke up with his girlfriend because he was just in the gym every day. He was training like a fighter. I had him sparring, really getting hit. I put him in situations where I wanted to see what he was made of. No one but fighters understand the sacrifice it takes to be a fighter.”
What did that training include? Well, an eight-mile run, followed by time in the ring with real boxers, training at gyms in Los Angeles and at the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas.
In terms of prep, Fuqua told Variety, “Two people have done this in their lives, Robert De Niro in Raging Bull and Denzel Washington in The Hurricane. Those kinds of guys are rare.”
Southpaw doesn’t have a release date yet, but I expect The Weinstein Co. to give it all the treatment it deserves next year. The film co-stars Rachel McAdams, Naomie Harris, Forest Whitaker, Victor Ortiz, Tyrese Gibson, 50 Cent, Clare Foley and Beau Knapp.
