Jake Gyllenhaal Shares ‘Realisation’ That Made Him Change Career Path After Nightcrawler

Jake Gyllenhaal has opened up about when his attitude towards acting completely changed.

On Saturday, 9 April, Gyllenhaal returned to host Saturday Night Live; the 41-year-old was last on the show in 2007 to promote his film Brokeback Mountain.

In the most recent episode, Gyllenhaal reflected on his approach to the role of Lou Bloom in 2014 thriller Nightcrawler, and revealed the 'realisation' he had after taking on the part.

Gyllenhaal said that, after Nightcrawler, he had a 'reputation for being this serious, intense Method actor'. However, he noted that he didn't think he was very 'good' at it.

The 41-year-old said: "I remember for this movie Nightcrawler, I went to the director [Dan Gilroy] and I was like, ‘Get ready for me to lose 48 pounds and win the Oscar'.

"And then a week later I was like, ‘How would you like to see an actor lose 36 pounds and win the Golden Globe?’

"Then, I showed up on set and was like, ‘You’re looking at a guy who gained 10 pounds and doesn’t care about awards."

Gyllenhaal explained he previously thought that, in order to be considered a 'serious actor', you had to do method acting – but in doing so he 'kind of forgot how to have fun'.

He went on: "That’s when I realised something I should have realised a long time ago: acting is a really stupid job. It’s pretend and it’s fun and it should be filled with joy.

“Well, I’m finally embracing that joy again and that’s why I’m back standing on this stage."

Gyllenhaal solidified his vow to embrace 'joy' again with a performance of 'It's All Coming Back To Me Now' by Celine Dion.

While it's taken Gyllenhaal 15 years to return to the SNL stage, his presence has still been felt through the voice of former girlfriend Taylor Swift, who left fans divided with a 10-minute song about her ex.

Calls grew for Gyllenhaal to return Swift's beloved scarf – which was referenced in the song All Too Well.

Gyllenhaal finally spoke out in response to to claim Swift's song 'has nothing to do' with him and is apparently about 'her relationship to her fans' instead.

While the actor has been busy 'embracing' the joy of acting again now that he's ditched being an 'intense, method actor', he's clearly forgotten about Swift's scarf, as it is reportedly yet to be returned.

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Topics: Film and TV, Jake Gyllenhaal, Taylor Swift, Saturday Night Live

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.