Jake Gyllenhaal on his feet in Malibu - and Peter and Jake: 'You've gotta sing, Jake, if I dance'

Yesterday (11 April) Jake Gyllenhaal was seen walking about (on two feet, no crutches in sight) In Malibu State Park, with Reese, her son, a friend - with whom Jake was having a very animated conversation - and Atticus. So Jake isn't quite in South Carolina yet, but I love this Howard Ryder look. Is it just me or has Jake dyed his hair again for the role? It certainly looks darker to me.


May the producers of the Prince of Persia take note - Jake looks well on the mend and in fine fettle, definitely up for a spot of leaping over walls and minarets.




Thanks as always to IHJ for the new pics.

Jake and Peter - 'He's got great hair'

It probably hasn't escaped the attention of just about everyone and their cat that I bumped into Peter Sarsgaard in Oxford the other day. It's been on my mind since and so today I thought I'd do a post dedicated to these two most wonderful men - Jake Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard. Good mates and as good as related, the careers of Jake and Peter have no doubt benefited from their relationship, as each never fails to impress. And sometimes, of course, they even go so far as to make films together. While Jake and Peter didn't have a scene together in Rendition, the progression of the friendship between Swoff and Troy in Jarhead was no doubt all the more realistically portrayed with its ups and downs because it mirrored a true life situation where Jake and Peter got to know each other even better. Maggie is a lucky lady.


When Peter was interviewed about Jarhead and the experience of filming with someone who was close to him in real life, he was asked how they kept from killing each other: 'You know, it's the greatest thing that ever happened to us, I've got to say. I mean, going in - I always tell this story - my aunt had my uncle once landscape her property and they didn't speak for a year after that. And I told Jake that before we started. I said, 'You know, if we're not careful, this could be very bad... We went through so many difficult times together and then so many good ones, it's like somehow when you have a hard time together, the make-up, it's like you're suddenly so much closer. So that's one of the most valuable things that came out of this movie, that Jake and I got a lot closer.'


And like any close friends, they like to banter and tease, and their anecdotes can tell us as much about the other as they can about the one doing the talking. 'My regime... Jake's was, I think, 500 push-ups he said today to somebody. I was like, 'I don't know. I think that sounds a little fudged to me.' Maybe like five sets of 100 push-ups over the course of a day? Mine was more like five sets of 100 cigarettes a day.'


I noticed when I saw Peter that he had clearly lost quite a bit of weight since Toronto - he looked really good. It seems pretty sensible that before a new role you'd want to look at your best. before Jarhead, Peter obviously had some competition in terms of body beautiful and so he gave up drinking for a while to lose weight quickly: 'Well, I got fit enough, we're in Mexico and there was a lot of stress and I decided one night to start drinking again. I had a couple margaritas... Jake started drinking beer at that point and I had some margaritas, maybe only two or three. And there was a thing that was like a fountain in the middle of the courtyard. We're staying at this not-very-nice hotel that had like a fountain and it looked like it could be a pool, but it was not actually a swimming pool. And he says I finished my margarita and I put it down. He said he was in mid-conversation with me and he said I just walked over to the edge of the pool and with all my clothes on, just walked into the pool and went underwater for a little bit and then came up and walked into my room totally wet. And he said he was in the middle of talking to me about something. So that actually happened, I realized, and I sort of blocked it out.'

The idea of sharing a beer with Jake in a Mexican courtyard by a fountain one warm, starry night...



'It's the movie about inaction,' says Peter Sarsgaard, who stars in the film with Gyllenhaal and Jamie Foxx. 'A lot of the movie is about what they don't get to do.' Sarsgaard, who as Maggie Gyllenhaal's longterm boyfriend is virtually a member of the family, says he and Jake survived the rigours of the desert partly by crabbing at each other like brothers. Underneath the hard work - 'a large portion of the movie is on Jake, and he was bushed by the end' - he watched his co-star grow up: 'I think the interesting thing is that his character in Jarhead is travelling the distance between boyhood and manhood, just as Jake is.'


As far as Rendition goes, Jake and Peter were asked if they would have liked to have played each other's role: '"I would much rather be the guy who makes the really good choice. I’d hate to be Peter’s character. Peter sucks (laughing).” Peter Sarsgaard: “And I was very happy staying close to home, you know.” Jake Gyllenhaal: “The irony is that most likely in reality we would both make the opposite decisions, I think. I would make the bad choice and he would make the right one. I’m just trying to help you along Peter (laughing).”'


Peter's influence must be important as Jake moves on in his career. When he was asked if he's ever considered giving up acting, Jake replied: 'Maybe. My friend Peter taught me that whatever you are feeling is OK. If you are acting and you don't want to act, then fine. Peter said he's been treating his talent like it was a two-cent whore. He's having his way with it and not appreciating it. Whatever you are doing, if you lose an appreciation for it, it's time to rethink that.'


Peter is of course a big part of Jake's life, not least because he is Maggie's other half and Ramona's dad. At a Rendition press conference, it was said: 'Peter told us that you have the best job in the world—being an uncle to Ramona - "It’s wonderful to see the dynamic of a family change when a new life comes along. Everybody becomes his best self, and not in a cheesy way. Maybe it’s actually cheesy (laughing)—but never mind. It feels wonderful! Ramona is extraordinary person, like her parents!"'


But the quips soon followed. 'You and Peter shaved your heads in “Jarhead.” Now, you both have beards: "Peter and I are dating (laughter). I can see the headlines now. Seriously, I look up to him. If he shaves his goatee, I’ll also shave mine (laughter)." Did you grow your beard for a role? Do you like wearing one? "Peter is merely doing it for vanity—he’s really vain and full of himself (laughter). We all know he’s a bad actor, so he needs to cover himself up. I, on the other hand, am doing it for a role (in “Brothers”). I’m playing a character who spends time in jail in the first part of the movie."'



Despite the friendship between the two of them, it sounds like being 'Jarhead roomies' drove Peter up the wall: '"I figured if I couldn't be around my girlfriend, I would settle for her brother," said Sarsgaard, who's dating Maggie Gyllenhaal. Sarsgaard and Jake Gyllenhaal lived together for about five months during filming, mostly in a hotel in Mexico. "The idea was to simulate the military experience: what happens if you're forced to be with someone every minute of the day and night," Sarsgaard told the magazine. "And we fought. We'd have a fight and then we'd still have to be together. For a while, I would just wear headphones. All the time. That lasted for 10 days." Order was eventually restored, he said.' And who can forget Jake driving Peter to distraction by repeating 50 Cent's Candy Shop in the car.


But at the Palm Spring Film Festival gala awards, Peter presented Jake with the Desert Palm Achievement Actor award and showed that the two of them are some double act - one wonders what a family party is like after they've been at the sherry. Also, I have to say how pleased I am that Peter shares our fascination with Jake's hair.


'"First, I want to say some nice things about Jake," Sarsgaard said. “He's got great hair. An amazing head of hair. And the thing about "Jarhead" is that he shaved it all off! Also, Jake is a fantastic singer and I think it's only a matter of time before you get to hear him sing. And I will dance,” said Sarsgaard, doing some suave hustle steps. "So you gotta sing, Jake, if I dance. Let's get this party started!"


'With that intro, Gyllenhaal, laughing so hard he could barely speak, came out on stage, stepped up to the mike and sang, in a falsetto voice, "Fever Night, Fever Night, Fe-vah! You know how to do it!” “Wow! Okay, let’s get raucous!," said Gyllenhaal, when he finished. “Listen, I’ve already played a gay cowboy. If I do a musical number, people will really start to question me. So I’ll stay away from music for a while but don’t think that it's not beating deep, deep in my veins. Very deep.”


'He explained that his love of storytelling is what keeps him acting. "If the story moves me, I will do anything to be in it. I’ll play any part, even craft services. But I prefer theatrical work. But I would do that. No, no actually, I wouldn’t.” Winding up his acceptance speech, Gyllenhaal spoke of how “films take me to places I never thought I would get to, and over walls that I never thought I could get over. When I think about that it's just — I dunno — I forgot.” As the audience roared, Gyllenhaal continued, “Let’s be real. I forgot. And I was almost there. It was really gonna be good.”'


Jake's admiration and affection for Peter is obvious: 'I have very few close friends and I feel that even though we do insult each other in private and in public, for some reason I think it was a blessing. Speaking for myself, I spend a lot of time throwing tricks that I consider to be honest but which aren’t necessarily honest but they work with people that don’t know you that well. What I noticed from working with my sister just a little bit and in working with Peter is that no matter what I threw that was dishonest, they just kind of know. It was just like ‘No thank you, next’ – and until you threw something honestly it just forces you to be really present and be real and that’s essentially what Sam wanted from the very beginning. That’s what he asked of all the actors and that’s why all our relationships are pretty much on screen. Besides Peter and I, there are actors that I didn’t talk to for months and we eventually apologised on screen. Sam eventually rewrote a scene for us to apologise on screen. But ultimately Peter is the one I am closest to and Pete may have my sister’s hand if he wants it.'

And because I can't resist it...


Includes pictures by IHJ.