Jake Gyllenhaal Thinks Being Legally Blind Improves His Acting Abilities

Jake Gyllenhaal believes that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

In a new interview, the actor shared that he's been wearing glasses or contact lenses since he was 6 years old, as he's legally blind. But the health complication hasn't done anything to hinder his career or personal life.

"I like to think it's advantageous. I've never known anything else," he spilled. "When I can't see in the morning, before I put on my glasses, it's a place where I can be with myself."

Gyllenhaal, 43, recalled how he once removed his contacts for a scene in Southpaw where his character finds out his wife died, as doing so "forced him to listen more closely."

Speaking of the star's movie roles, he admitted he's currently going after parts that "freak me out a bit."

"The feeling I want to have is, can I do it? That it’s going to ask of me things that I don’t know about myself yet," he explained.

In 2025, he'll hit Broadway for Shakespeare's Othello. To ensure he nails the gig, he hired an acting coach and is working with a college professor who specialized in the writer's work.

"It is learning another language," he said of Shakespearean dialogue. "I have a bit of dyslexia, too, particularly within the articles of things — like, I’ll reverse them. Many people say, ‘But you learn so fast.’ And I’m like, ‘I drill these things.'"

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As Gyllenhaal gets older, he said he's also allowed himself to take on roles just for pleasure.

"There are movies I’ve made that people have said to me, ‘Man, intense. That was great. It was tough.' And there have been many different times where I’m like, ‘Wait, what’s it like to make a movie and be like, ‘That was just fun?’ Road House was definitely that," spilled the Hollywood hunk.

The Donnie Darko alum makes some career decisions based on his older sister, actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, 46.

"I worshiped her, and she was like, ‘Go away,’" Jake recalled of how he began to admire her acting skills after watching her in school plays.

"Clearly we came out ready to go," he continued. "My sister has always been brilliant. What it did was present something to me that I inevitably would always be chasing. She takes a step and does something and I’m like, ‘Whoa, holy s---. All right, I’m going to try this.'"

The Hollywood Reporter spoke to the actor.