Actor Jake Gyllenhaal To Spend Six Months In Prison Voluntarily To Research For Role As Inmate
Actor Jake Gyllenhaal, known for his extensive research when preparing to portray a character, is at it again. The 34-year-old actor, who rode with third shift LAPD street cops for six months to study for his role in the 2012 drama End of Watch,Â lost an almost dangerous amount of weight for his role as a frail journalist in the recent sleeper hitÂ Nightcrawler. Apparently Gyllenhaal has taken method acting to new heights once more, as he has packed on over fifty pounds of muscle for his role as a professional boxer in the movie Southpaw, and has been granted access by warden Connie Gipson to spend six months at the notoriously violent maximum-security California State Prison known as Corcoran for his role in another new film,Â The Crimson Shadow.Gyllenhaal is often referred to as one the hardest working actors in Hollywood when it comes to preparing for a role, and according toÂ several filmmakers, heâs extremely involved in becoming his character as much as possible.âIt was Jakeâs idea to spend time on the inside as a real inmate. I told him he was crazy and that they would never allow it, nor would we want him to try something so absurd,â said CrimsonÂ director Martin Scorsese.Â âBut he went to Corcoran warden Connie Gipson, and somehow convinced her to let him spend six months just as a real prisoner would â no special treatment or anything. That boy is something else.âCorcoranÂ prison is known for its violent history and for housing one of the most notorious inmates of all time, Charles Manson. According to Scorsese, Gyllenhaal has also been granted the opportunity to have several meetings with Manson.âIâm serious, Jake is hardcore. Heâs going to have meetings with Charles Manson so he can get inside the mind of a killer, a criminal,â said SouthpawÂ director Antoine Fuqua. âHe actually went out and filmed car crashes and robberies when he was preparing for his role inÂ Nightcrawler.Â Hell I wouldnât be surprised if he was having sex with cowboys when he was makingÂ Brokeback Mountain,Â because thatâs how goddamn method that guy is.âSouthpaw is scheduled for release in late 2015.Â Scorsese says that The Crimson ShadowÂ begins filming as soon as Gyllenhaal is âreleasedâ.