NEWSJake Gyllenhaal Opens Up About Training to Become a Cop for New Movie 'End of Watch'
Aug. 7 2012, Published 7:50 a.m. ET
Jake Gyllenhaal is looking scruffy (and a lot more mature than usual) with a brand new beard on the September cover of Details magazine.
OK! GALLERY: JAKE GYLLENHAAL CATCHES A CAB IN NYC LOOKING SCRUFFY AND SEXY
While Jakey got his start doing offbeat films like Donnie Darko, he's been churning out ultra-masculine, drama and action flicks as of late. In next month's End of Watch, he plays a cop marked for death after making some arrests within a drug cartel.
While the actor got into amazing shape for his role in the pre-Desert Storm drama, Jarhead, training for this movie was just as much psychological as physical.
"Five months of training for a 22 day shoot. Three nights a week in ride-alongs with cops. Fight training every morning at a KenboKarate dojo, and I got the sh*t kicked out of me. Then the shooting range, shooting past each other’s heads, with live ammo," he told the magazine. "There’s a simulated fire in the movie, but Dave (the Director) wanted us to feel what that’s like, so he had us do a controlled burn… a Saturday where me and Michael Pena drive down to Orange County, dressed like firemen head-to-toe, and suddenly we’re there just sit- ting in the middle of a burning building."
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
The interview took on an introspective tone as the Love and Other Drugs actor mused about how much he loves directing and how being part of a showbiz family has really fueled his thirst for all things movies (sister is actress Maggie Gyllenhaal and his parents work behind the camera).
OK! GALLERY: BEYONCE & JAKE GYLLENHALL ATTEND PRIVATE DINNER IN NYC
More than ever, the actor is looking to push his limits in new ways, even if it's a little bit scary.
"Every journey starts with fear. And I could say that’s what I want to embrace now. A real experience," he said. "And I want, overall, to trust what I know is right. There have been many times when I haven’t. It’s what I’m asking myself: Where is the line? What is the line? There’s so much context, it can be almost impossible to find.”
End of Watch hits theaters on Sept. 21.
