Jake Gyllenhaal dropped 25 pounds to play a doe-eyed sociopath in Nightcrawler, and it looks like he also threw himself headlong into playing junior middleweight Champion Billy “The Great†Hope for Southpaw. Deadline has the first image from the film, showing a jacked Gyllenhaal (who reportedly put on 15 pounds of muscle for the role). “I had him training twice a day in the boxing ring, he did two-a-days seven days a week,†said director Antoine Fuqua. “I think he broke up with his girlfriend because he was just in the gym every day. He was training like a fighter. I had him sparring, really getting hit. I put him in situations where I wanted to see what he was made of. No one but fighters understand the sacrifice it takes to be a fighter.†Masculinity!Â
