Saturday 22 March 2008

On the question of Jake's hair - 'It used to defy gravity, but now it's growing longer, and I can't get it to stick up'

Last night discussion turned, as it so often does, to one of our favourite subjects - Jake's hair. It's the holidays and I felt like some fun so I thought I'd take a closer look at this divisive issue. This was prompted by the rather surprising feature in last weekend's edition of the UK paper The Mail On Sunday, which suggested, tongue in cheek, complete with comparative photos, that David Beckham's new haircut was modelled on that of Jake Gyllenhaal's in Jarhead: 'The LA Galaxy star and noted hair chameleon has turned his already short locks into a severe military buzz cut that is seemingly inspired by Jake Gyllenhaal's crop in the 2005 war film Jarhead.'


This made me think two things: firstly, that looks like any other number of haircuts Beckham's had over the years and, secondly, I hadn't realise that Jake was becoming quite so mainstream in the UK media that he is included as comparison to one of the UK's most famous (for better or worse) stars and exports. Oh, there was a third thought: I hate the jarhead haircut.


Jake himself seems to have been taken aback by the Jarhead jarhead: 'I remember when I got my head shaved - and they shaved it right down - it was the most horrible haircut. It was pretty mundane. I filmed that. Then I filmed me honing the haircut because I wanted it to look perfect. I remember it just coming all off and there was a ceremony afterwards. I filmed that.' [With this video below, when you click on it, it may say Party Poker - ignore that and click on the play symbol at the bottom of the video screen and it goes to Jake.]



Of course, the hairdo was paired up with a incredible body honed to physical perfection (compensation indeed for the top of Jake's head). And Jake appears to have found it liberating to have been inhabiting this whole new type of character and he felt empowered. 'I was at first, I think, I was a little terrified of myself without hair. And then I just felt bad ass. It just really empowers you. It was the beginning of a real sense of empowerment that Sam [Mendes] just fed and let grow, you know? He really gave us room and gave us all confidence in ourselves. That shaving of our hair was, in a way, a kind of similar process or parallel process to boot camp or the process of becoming a Marine.' Mind you, Jake grew his hair back fast enough - he can't have liked it that much. His parents didn't seem to care for it either: 'I shaved my head for Jarhead and both my parents were, like, f---! I came back from the boot camp and they were terrified.'


Jake has been burdened with some 'unusual' haircuts in his movie career (in Bubble Boy, for instance, Jimmy's hair was almost a character in its own right). Even though the jarhead had to be rebuzzed every two days, it must have been a bit of a relief not to have to go through hours of primping and preening: 'Being able to have a part where you don't have to do your hair or have wardrobe. [laughs] You didn't have to deal with any of that stuff. You're just basically you.'


When Jake was interviewed by Seventeen back in 2002, the first of the 17 questions went straight to the subject of Jake's hair to which Jake replied: 'It doesn't really stick up anymore. It used to defy gravity, but now it's growing longer, and I can't get it to stick up!' This is a fun interview (altough why anyone would admit to stealing their housekeeper's underwear and burning it is another matter). If you click on the picture you can also read about Jake's first kisses and how he was given a ring inscribed 'It's important to live, not only to exist.' Jake is also asked what his last dream was: 'Last night I dreamed that I was at a crazy party in Central Park. There was a mud bath and noone wanted to get in.'


It may be worth pointing out, that it's not just the hair on the top of Jake's head that interests us, and for that we have a lot to be grateful to Jarhead. 'Well the main difference is I started the movie with no hair on my body and then I seem to get hair all over my body.'



Sometimes, the hair disappears from more unusual places - well, unusual if you're not a cyclist - and then at other times it appears with too much abundance on other parts of the body.



And some of us are still divided on Rendition/Bafta Jake and the value or otherwise of gloup and product on Jake's hair. This has also interested other sites, including the Hairstyler. One thing's for sure, in some films, it's better than in others, but at least Jake has a myriad of other attributes to distract, not least of which, of course, is an obscene amount of talent.







Sometimes, even Jake has a bad hair day and then there is only one option.






Includes pictures from IHJ.

63 comments:

Ruby said...

best. post. evah!!!

;-) *-)

BirdGirl said...

I am rather fond of it myself Ruby. I always love to discuss Jakes hair.

I can't decide which look I love best. I think I would go with the Harold Dobbs look. I am such a sucker for Hal.

Then again I love them all with the exception of Jarhead Jake. I like my man with some hair.

Don't even get me started on his chest hair.

*drools all over her keyboard*

;)

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Blimey, Rubes :DD Ever? Thank you * Mind you, when it comes to Jake's hair you have been known to express an opinion :D

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi there Bird Girl :) I do like Hal but I just don't like proof. But he does look dishy and that is definitely a Good Jake Hair Film. I hope that more attention will be paid to Jake's chest hair in all future roles.

Ruby said...

*feels shallow*

I liked the Jarhead cut, because it made Swoff/Jake look tough but soulful. :)

Hal does look very fine, I agree.

Wet Dark and Wild said...

No more shallow than the rest of us! :D *

I appreciate Jake's physical appearance in Jarhead much more now I'm used to the haircut - or lack of. His eyes are stunning in it and some of the faces he pulls. What a beautiful face.

Hal looks fine. And Pilot's hair is pretty loveable. And then there's Sam - I love his floppy hair, especially when wet.

Talking about Wet Sam - for everyone in the UK, TDAT is on Channel 4 at 8.15 pm - very suitable, considering that I had to walk through an unexpected and very unseasonable snow blizzard this afternoon :(

Ruby said...

I noticed that TDAT was on and mentioned it to Mr R. He gave me a look that he uses sometimes, so I guess we won't be watching it!

He is happy to watch Casanova on DVD though, so hopefully I'll get through that without judicious use of tissues. Seeing Heath having a good time might be nice.

Wet Dark and Wild said...

I've got the place to myself so I can watch it without getting any of 'those looks' - after watching BBM late into last night I'm ready for something frothy. I also cleared out my wardrobe today so I need a rest :D It amuses me that two members of my family contacted me to inform me it was on!

Ruby said...

Actually I'm not that big a fan of TDAT, so I'm not fussed.

Am I allowed to say that here? :D

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Er no ;D

Wet Dark and Wild said...

... But you can say Proof is a bad film.... (albeit a Good Jake Hair Movie)

Anonymous said...

Hey WDW...quite lovely post, my dear...Jake's hair has taken on a personality of its own!! I did not fancy the Jarhead short, but I do like the way it is currently..and I loved it in BBM. I was just laughing last night, because Bubble Boy was on here..and even though I own the dvd and can watch it anytime..I still watched it on network television..you are right, his hair in that is almost like another character...I know the films is so kitsch..but he is so lovable in it...I can never resist. I cannot wait to see how his hair looks in his next flick..but I am guessing it is going to be rather shortish..and that he will be clean-shaven, since he will be a political type...sigh..I can only hope...thanks again for the fab post..
Michele

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi Michele :D So glad you liked the post. It was a lot of fun to do, that's for sure.

I love Bubble Boy - a lot of fun and not to be taken seriously. I know what you mean about having to watch Jake's films when they're on the TV. I'm feeling like that with TDAT even though I saw it all the way through just a week or two ago!

I think in Nailed Jake's hair will be perfect - short and no facial fuzz as you say. All the better to be a naughty congressman. Thanks for commenting D

twistedlogic said...

Brilliant post!!! Thank you for this fantastic guide to the Life and Times of the Gyllenhair:D It must have taken you ages to do all that research! Love all the hat pics too,btw:) My feelings and preferences regarding Jake's hair, (on all parts of his body) are well documented so I won't go into it again;)

Watching TDAT atm, well it's on in the background and I just look up whenever Jake appears, now the WetJake scenes are over;)

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Thanks TL! Every minute of research well spent - had to sift through a lotta pics :D Er, I think I know your feelings about every single hair on Jake's body :D

I've been enjoying spending some time with Wet Sam this evening myself :) There's been some TDAT kind of weather round here too, just to make it feel more appropriate.

twistedlogic said...

Know what you mean about the weather!The sun came out this afternoon so TL Jr went outside to play football, then an hour later she had to come back home cos it was snowing!! Not proper snow unfortunately but still...
Watching the end of TDAT again on C4 +1 :D It's definitely a film that grows on me every time I watch it - and it makes me laugh so much!

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hey TL - glad to see you've become a connoisseur of TDAT :) But you're not supposed to find it funny - you're supposed to be moved by the plight of Sam and humankind ;D I love Jake all bundled up against the cold like that...

twistedlogic said...

LOL! I know, WDW, I like TDAT for all the wrong reasons;) But I used to positively dislike it,so I'm getting better.Can't see it ever being up there with BBM, Jarhead or Rendition though - possibly because of all the clothing you mention;) I definitely think Jake should have gone for the mammoths and loincloth film instead.

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Yep, your TDAT therapy is definitely working :) Now we need to see Jake make a movie where it's too hot! This film just shows that there's room for all kinds of movies in Jake's career - I'm still holding out for Jake playng an Indiana Jones action type hero - in between some serious dramas with an important social message, of course...

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this wonderfully frivolous,fun post. In between washing and cooking up a storm I've been surfing all day.. I think you call it Jakeing.

I love his hair especially in Moonlight Mile, Donnie Darko, Proof and Highway. In Moonlight Mile interviews you see the Monkey's inspired hairstyle parted in the middle and is slightly in his face, he looks beautiful.

I think when he has very short hair its also good because you can totally focus on the rest of his face - his mesmerising eyes, beautiful shaped lips etc. In all honesty, the sexiest part of Jake's hair is the back of the hair at the nape where it meets in a natural V shape.

To deviate slightly from the topic, I've just read for the first time that article where Jake talks about his first broken heart and first kisses. Also, that boy is so rude!!! I Love Him. .....come on baby light my fire!!!!!! LMAO. I can just imagine how imaginatively mischeivious he was and probably got into trouble almost every week. How can I love you more Jake? How?

twistedlogic said...

I reckon Jake could play any type of role he wants to, look at the variety of characters he's played already.I think Jake's versatility is under rated by a lot of people (not here, obviously, just people in general who know who he is but wouldn't class themselves as fans) because the subject matter of a lot of his films is serious and/or dark and the characters (and therefore Jake) get tarred with the same brush, so to speak. But if you think about Jack, Swoff, Donnie, Graysmith....they're all so completely different from one another. I really hope Jake is going to do Nailed, cos we know how funny he is when he's on form in interviews but he hasn't really had a chance to show that in a film yet, so I'm really looking forward to seeing a new side of him in that.

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi there Sheba - Ive been doing my fair bit of Jaking today as well :D Thanks very much for commenting - and I just love that image of the v at the back of Jake's hair in the nape of his neck - sigh :) That really is a fun interview and Jake is so cheeky in it! I'm so glad you liked the post - it was good to have some fun :D

TL, that is so interesting - how all these roles are so different and yet Jake's made them his own. I wasn't so keen on the idea of Nailed - it sounded a little sleezy to me on first reading - but if it is to be a proper political satire then I would love to see Jake in it - totally different from what we've seen from Jake before, just as Rendition's Douglas was. It's very exciting :D

sass said...

Evening WDW and everyone:)
Thanks for such a fun post; laughter is the best medicine.
I would love to wax poetic about his gorgeous hair, but since I can't just now, I love that you are here making my life rock.

However, I can tell ya that the natural neck hair "V" gets me every time...*thud*

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Thanks Sass :D That's such a nice thing to say and good to see you! I've had such a fun time with this one :D And yes, that natural V gets me every time. Have a good night!

Anonymous said...

Great post and pictures , it was fun taking a walk down memory lane with Jake's hair.:)

*good girl* said...

Hi dear Gyllenheads :D
I'm in a hurry, I have to leave to go to my grandma, and UNFORTUNATELY :( :( :( I have no time to catch up on your last posts WDW, I know I'm gonna looove the last one about Jake's hair *me crying* but I absolutely wanted to wish you all a happy Easter, have a great time and eat loads of chocolate (I do it all year long, but at Easter I feel less guilty, kind of justified :P)

So HAPPY GYLLENEASTER to you all, hugs & kisses

Sonia

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Morning everyone and Happy Easter whether you celebrate it or not. It's a horrible day out there so might as well have a day of eating and Jaking :D

Good to see you LG! I'm glad you enjoyed the look back :D

Morning Sonia! Have a lovely time with your grandma. I believe in a policy of all-year-round chocolate consumption as well. Happy Easter to you too :D

Anonymous said...

Mmmmm. Yum, yum. Chocolate and Jake, what a combination. Happy Easter!

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi there Sheba - hmmm, a Jake chocolate :D

Ruby said...

*Runs into WDW* Did someone mention chocolate? :D

We didn't bother with Easter eggs this year, we went straight for the Hotel Chocolat taster box. Yum. No Gyllenberry chocolate in this box though, very disappointing. :/ Wonder if Jake got another little chocolate bunny this weekend. :)

Mr R and I both enjoyed Casanova last night. It was better than I remembered from my first viewing actually. I like the running theme of fake/mistaken identity. Heath looks like he's having a really good time and he has an English accent. To keep on topic, he has hair extensions and a wig!

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hey there Ruby - oh that sounds good, Hotel Chocolat, lovely :D Glad you liked the film - skilfully done with the getting on topic, if I may say so ;D

I had two chocolate bunnies, today the second one gets it...

Anonymous said...

Happy Easter everyone and Reese-Happy birthday!!! You're great and obviously oh so dear to Jakey. You deserve it.Have a good life with him, girl.But...what's up with the pig? Remember, you boyfriend likes "watching pigs being slaughtered". I hope you have thought it through:)

Anonymous said...

*ROLLS EYES* There's always one!! *shakes head*

Back to the hair therapy or hairapy. Would love to see Jake with long Jonny Depp type hair - wonder what that would look like?

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Er... hi anon :D

Hey there Sheba! Nooo - I cannot see Jake with long hair, no, no, no, no, no. That's no, by the way ;D No, nyet, nein, non.

I just want to say 'thaks a bunch' to the person who invented the PlayStation 2, which has sucked away my afternoon.

Anonymous said...

Good day, sweetpeeps!

Better comment on Jake's hair before we move on to new post.

What has not been said?

No mention of Jake saying he obsesses about his hair. So we're not the only ones.

Nor mention of Lovely and Amazing haircut.

I like Bedhead Jake.

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Good to see you Pia!!

There was so much I missed out of this - I couldn't find a couple of quotes. I'll have to dig them out for a part 2 at some time. I loved it when Jake said that his hair was hard work in Rendition, or something like that. And Bedhead - damn I missed that out :( I suppose that's an entire post in its own right. There's just too much about any little aspect of Jake to cover it in one post - happy sigh.

The haircut in L&A wasn't too bad, I liked it in that much more than in The Good Girl.

Hope you're having a good Sunday :D

Anonymous said...

"There's always one"? Why can't I mention Reese? I know this post was about Jake's hair (which I love by the way)but it was her birthday yesterday and NO ONE has mentioned this. You remember she's his girlfriend and probably a future wife, right? Why are some people so negative about her? I just don't get it. WDW, I have always liked her blog but now I feel a little bit offended. I'm not gonna sulk in the corner but I'm not going to comment any more.

Anonymous said...

I meant "your blog"

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Anon - of course you can mention Reese! Don't be like that. It's nothing to do with being negative about Reese - What I didn't understand is why you were going on about pigs!

Anonymous posts are always treated with a little bit of suspicion because most people have chosen names for themselves. So why not pick a name and join in?

Anonymous said...

I mentioned the pigs because Reese and the kids got a baby pig yesterday.I don't know if the link is gonna work, there are pictures of Ava and Reese cuddling the pig:)

http://popsugar.com/gallery/248347

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Oh! Thanks for the link, anon :D I see what you mean now :) There is a birthday theme to tonight's post because this week more than one of Jake's ladies has a birthday.

Anonymous said...

O lawdy lawd! The pig is the archetypal unclean animal in Judaism and Islam.

Whut's the world comin' to?

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Well, I'm a veggie! But pigs are pretty cute when they're little.

Ruby said...

Didn't George Clooney have a pet pig?

I drive past a free-range pig farm on my way to work and last week they were dropping off a truck load of little piglets. There were thousands of 'em running like mad across the field. So cute.

I thought of them as I was eating my pancakes and bacon with maple syrup this morning. :D ;-)

Anonymous said...

The pig in Charlotte's Web was sometning else! As Charlotte the Spider commented.

Vision of suckling pig with apple in its mouth, really yummy! in New England we have pig roasts upon all occasions and celebrations. No meat so sweet, actually.

Zodiac said...

OK, I have logged in now. It was me who started the whole pig discussion:)

Anonymous said...

Hi Ruby I had pancakes and maple syrup for breakfast too, syrup fresh from the trees.

Anonymous said...

Hi, Zodiac! Welcome! Your reputation precedes you :) :)

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hey, good to see you, Zodiac - and that's my favourite movie :D

But just look what you started!! And I'm a vegetarian! - there's nothing up with quorn sausages and veggie bacon. Pigs belong out in the wild furtling for truffels.

Oh yeah, Ruby - George had a Vietnamese pot bellied pig. A friend of mine had one of those and it grew as big as his house (I hope Reese didn't get one of those...), it was also very jealous of his dog and kept attacking it (and the dog was a big mean boxer) and winning.

You can't have bacon on pancakes....

You can't move round here, Pia, without stumbling on a pig or hog roast.... There's nothing up with a nice lentil casserole....

Wet Dark and Wild said...

I can honestly say if I should ever have children I may call them all Zodiac - I love that film that much.

Are pancakes a traditional easter breakfast? I had flapjack because I have craving issues.

Zodiac said...

I have commented like a gazillion times here but always as an anonymous poster. I've had a blogger account for ages but I'm too lazy to log in:) The moment I saw the pig pictures I rememberd Jake's GQ interview and just couldn't stop grinning. I imagined Reese, Jake and the kids chasing the squealing pig around the house if it gets out of control, cursing and tripping over the furniture, breathless with laughter.

Anonymous said...

No WDW I just made pancakes because I wanted the new syrup. this time of year sugarhouses serve p.c. breakfasts. would have loved some bacon on the side.

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi Zodiac, I'm so glad that you did sign up and use the name. It's so much more fun when I can put a name to commentors, adds to the community feel, which is important to me :D

I imagine that a pig could make one troublesome pet and I hope Reese owns nothing she doesn't mind getting smashed :) But in the end, if he's too much trouble, very handy for those hangover bacon butties ;D

Anonymous said...

Zodiac haha you kill me!

How can I resist making Zodiac jokes? I need help!

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Reminds me, Pia, of our asparagus festivals round here :D

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Pia, I think you've had a sugar rush...

Ruby said...

You can't have bacon on pancakes....

It's a bit late to tell me that, I already did. :D
Mr R makes very fine pancakes.

Hi Pia, I guess my maple syrup came from a tree too but via Waitrose! It is Canadian and organic though.

Hi Zodiac, thanks for letting us have your name. It's much nicer than anonymous. :)

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hey Ruby, you have a culinary gem in Mr R :D (although I still say that you can't have bacon on pancakes...) - I'm a lemon juice and sprinkle of sugar kind of girl. I'm getting hungry now :(

Anonymous said...

Zodiac, I misunderstood your post and apologise for my hastiness in judging you. I thought it was someone out to make trouble as we all know the pig comments don't go down well. Reece is a cool girl and deserves happiness too. I like it here, free from the petty bitchiness that can go on elsewhere, so again, apologies. I've been on YouTube all day laughing until I cry - so much fun.

And you know what, Proof is only a bad film when Jake is not in the scenes (sorry Anthony - love ya but even you couldn't pull that one off).

Anyway, why not long hair? I guess if he grows it it will be a lot of hair especially as his circumference is huge!!! LOL :0)

BTW everytime I come here I feel hungry afterwards, I'm gonna put the George Foreman on :D

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Hi Sheba! No worries - you and me both on the pig thing - oh the arguments when that statement first came out :D It's hugely important to me that this is a place where people can get along while not necessarily thinking alike - that would be dull - like the long hair for instance - no, no, no, no, no!!!

I just can't see Jake with long hair - but that may be because I'm still in recovery from the 80s and Spandau Ballet.

Proof is bad - and I know people disagree with me on that but I stick my fingers in my ears and go lalalalalala.

People are always making me feel hungry here. What on earth is a George Foreman - is that cockney for something I've never heard of?

Anonymous said...

Ha, the George Foreman is a fat reducing grill where you can grill bacon, burgers, fish, steak etc and the fat drains off. (I think its all the bacon on pancakes talk LOL).

Guys who have had long hair and it still looked cool:

Jonny Depp, Keith Hamilton Cobb, Jeff Bridges, Brad Pitt, I'm struggling a bit here.... erm ... Kevin Sorbo (Waaaaaaay back when) erm... ok, well maybe not :D

Wet Dark and Wild said...

Ahhh - I have a grill pan but didn't know it was called that :D I learn something new everyday here!

Er, Brad Pitt looked good at the time in Interview with a Vampire with long hair but now I just can't take him seriously like that. Jeff Bridges with long hair? I suppose there's always Jon Bon Jovi or Ozzy Osborne... ;D

paulh said...

I think that talking about pigs should be considered an honorable thing to do, because this is the Chinese Year of the Pig.

(I spent years trying to get a book about a pig published, and never succeeded. Oh, well :-( )

As for Jake's hair, he has great hair. It's hard to make it look uglt, though I suspect that one or two directors have tried. ;-)