Oscar nominations 2015 snub Jake Gyllenhaal plays a TV cameraman in "Nightcrawler," a grisly satire of the media business from writer-director Dan Gilroy. The actor shared his thoughts about playing the role of Louis Bloom.
"Nightcrawlers" are about cameramen who tamper with the police radio to get to crime scenes first and swoop in on the dead to get the best footage. Jake Gyllenhaal reportedly immersed himself in the film. In addition to losing 30 pounds for his character, he barely slept during the filming as well.
The "Brokeback Mountain" star talked about Lou with much fondness and thinks of him as a superhero, according to a report by The Guardian.
"It's important that you feel like Lou is the superhero of a generation," the "Donnie Darko" actor shared. "People have asked me throughout many interviews over time: 'Do you ever wish you'd played a superhero?' I just did - his name is Lou Bloom."
The Oscar nominations 2015 snubbed actor talked a little bit more about his character.
"Young people have been taught what the idea of success is," he said.
"It's a society of 'succeed at any cost'. When do we decide that we've been successful in what we've done? Is there ever a point where that happens? Jobs are redefining themselves and you can find work in the strangest of places. If you have empathy, then I think you know how to navigate that in a way that's not going to hurt people, but if you're a character like Lou, it's dangerous.
The 34-year old actor also explained in an exclusive clip taken from the "Nightcrawler" Blu-ray (and premiered on Parade) about what prompted him to transform his look for the film.
"Growing up in Los Angeles, we would see a coyote walking down the street," the "Jarhead" actor started. "It just stared at you. You know that it either just killed something or wanted to kill you. And I thought Lou was really a coyote."
The clip included an interview with Gyllenhaal's co-star in the film, Riz Ahmed. The English actor talked about how the actor fully internalized the role.
"He just immersed himself in it," explained the rapper. "He's basically going, 'This character is desperate and hungry,' and he was! That just brings in a very primal, instinctive, predatory desperation in you. It does."
Jake Gyllenhaal was one of the Oscar nominations 2015 snubbed but critics even while viewers continue to rave about his stunning portrayal of Louis Bloom.
