Jake Gyllenhaal says he’s ‘learned so much’ from working with military veterans during his career
‘I think it changed my perspective on the world’: Jake Gyllenhaal says he’s ‘learned so much’ from working with military veterans during his career
Jake Gyllenhaal says he has learned much from working with veterans and experts over the course of his career, in which he has played a number of military-related roles.
Gyllenhaal, 42, chatted with the AP on Monday on the red carpet of his new motion picture The Covenant at the Directors Guild Of America in Los Angeles.
The Oscar-nominated actor has past performed in a number of military-themed films such as 2005’s Jarhead, 2009’s Brothers and 2011’s Source Code.
The Los Angeles native, who plays U.S. Army Special Forces Sergeant John Kinley in the forthcoming film from director Guy Ritchie, said that he has gradually gained more knowledge about the military with each project.
‘At the beginning of my career, I played a Marine, a recruit, and I got to know a lot of people in the military and learned from them,’ the actor said on the red carpet at the premiere.
The latest: Jake Gyllenhaal, 42, says he has learned much from working with veterans and experts over the course of his career, in which he has played a number of military-related roles. He was pictured at the premiere of The Covenant Monday in LA
Gyllenhaal said that his experiences in making the motion pictures has had an impact on his life views.
‘I think it changed my perspective on the world sort of just being around and touching that world just a bit,’ he said.
Gyllenhaal said he is naturally drawn to portraying military figures, who he admires for their bravery and sacrifices to the country.
‘I have throughout my career played people who are ex-military, people who had a history in that, and I’ve learned so much from that group,’ he said. ‘And there’s so much pride and love, the people that defend our freedom – that I am drawn to that story.’
Gyllenhaal told the AP that he’s ‘drawn to’ roles of people operating under ‘extreme circumstances,’ which he feels ‘brings out the humanity in people.’
He added: ‘There’s no better characters in extreme circumstances than a soldier, in particular, so that may be also why I’m drawn to it.’
In The Covenant, Gyllenhaal’s character’s life is saved by an Afghan interpreter named Ahmed (played by Dar Salim), and circles back to the combat zone to save the man after he and his family aren’t brought to the United States as previously agreed to.
The film is not based on a true story but taps into details of news stories involving real-life accounts of interpreters and their experiences following the U.S.’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The film, which also features Sean Sagar, Jason Wong and Rhys Yates, hits theaters Friday.
The Los Angeles native plays U.S. Army Special Forces Sergeant John Kinley in the forthcoming film from director Guy Ritchie
Gyllenhaal portrayed Tommy Cahill in the 2009 war drama Brothers
The actor, seen in the 2005 film Jarhead, said he is naturally drawn to portraying military figures, who he admires for their bravery and sacrifices to the country
