As he sat down to talk to a select group about his latest film ‘Okja’ in Cannes, Jake Gyllenhaal crossed his arms in front of his chest and gave the room an intense, yet wary look-over. In that moment I thought, “uh oh” imagining the actor would be as I’d seen him before during a masterclass in Dubai — revealing exactly what he was prepared to disclose and nothing more, nothing less. Which would mean that I’d never get my answers about the man beneath the public persona. And that’s always the most interesting, isn’t it, who someone is after the spotlights are turned off and the crowds have gone home.
But Gyllenhaal, it turns out, is not only a pro at what he does — I’ll call him easily the best contemporary actor we have in the Hollywood firmament today — he is also incredibly and fascinatingly human. Once he started to relax, partly due to the praises coming his way from my fellow journalists, and partly because he began to explore ideas near and dear to his heart, I dare think because of our questions, the arms uncrossed and out came his personal truth.
