Academy Award nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal was in attendance during SXSW to promote his upcoming film from Fox Searchlight, Demolition. The film debuted this weekend during the festival and on the last day won the Headliners Audience Award.
The panel was hosted by director and collaborator, David Gordon Green.
The duo discussed many early memories that helped shape Gyllenhaal’s life including his introduction into acting,
“I remember sitting with my mom because I was really young. I was like five or something like that. We didn’t have a babysitter or anything like that, I would just sit in the back while they would reherse. River Pheonix and Martha Plimpton. I had a huge crush on Martha Plimpton and I sat in on rehearsals. I don’t really remember them but i do remember the process of exploration. Kind of that feeling that there were no rules in that space. I remember River Phoenix asking questions about things he wasn’t sure about or that he didn’t really know then it would resolve something in the screenplay where it read well but it would be playable and he would ask the question and all of a sudden it would become playable and emotion. Then all of a sudden you can see the actors instinct open up in the scene.”
Green and Gyllenhaal also dug into the choices of Jake’s roles in the past from Southpaw to Nightcrawler. On the subject of his unhinged character in Nightcrawler, Gyllenhaal joked, “That’s the closest to me that you can get.”
Gyllenhaal also cited the impact the 2001 cult classic film Donnie Darko has had on him. “It’s one of the proudest moments of my career. It’s a movie that exists right where I love to be. Anyone who wants to know what’s going on in my mind, go see that movie.”
Jake Gyllenhaal and David Gordon Green are currently collaborating on the upcoming Boston bombing drama “Stronger“.
GWW was fortunate enough to sit among the crowd and get a first-hand experience into the mind of such an amazing actor:
For those unable to attend, no worries, SXSW has you covered. Check out the full panel below:
Watch the Demolition trailer below: