Jake’s great! Sporting just enough stubble, Jake Gyllenhaal oozes intensity and sex appeal — as usual — on the 10th anniversary cover issue of VMan magazine. Inside, the Oscar-nominated hunk, 32, expounds upon his craft as an actor — and how his own method involves taking a long, hard look at the real Jake Gyllenhaal.
“Maybe some people can be fooled but I’m not interested in that. I think it’s possible to be intimate in your work. It means asking questions of yourself, it demands trust,” muses the star, whose current squeeze is model Alyssa Miller, with exes that include Kirsten Dunst, Reese Witherspoon and Taylor Swift. “And that is scary, because you never know if you are completely safe, and it’s not always pretty but I’m pretty damn sure its the only way to go. I’m looking for the roles that will amount to my expressing as much as possible. What I’m looking for is all sides of myself.”
One Gyllenhaal fan? Hugh Jackman, his costar in Prisoners, which recently premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. “What always impressed me about Jake was his steadfast commitment to connection, His work ethic is like mine: he loves to explore, dig and extract every ounce of depth in a scene,” says Jackman, 44.
“He has the courage to follow his instincts and helps create an atmosphere where anything is possible. He is open, always striving for truth and complexity. What he has pulled off in Prisoners is extraordinary.”