Jake Gyllenhaal takes on notoriously tough roles, but his new movie is Boston strong.

In Stronger, shooting now, Gyllenhaal is playing Jeff Bauman, whose story of resilience went national three years ago after a jarring photo epitomized the tragedy of the Boston Marathon attack.

Bauman attended the marathon to cheer on his then-girlfriend, Erin Hurley, who was running her first race. After the pressure cooker bombs exploded, a photographer documented the 27-year-old being wheeled to an ambulance by a bystander in a cowboy hat.

Bauman lost the lower portion of his legs that day. He also helped identify the suspects from his hospital bed.

“I can’t begin to think about the pain that he has been through. In fact, I have thought about it a lot. I’ve tried to,” says Gyllenhaal, calling from Boston’s Back Bay. “But I don’t know if I would have been able to survive.

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Jake Gyllenhaal and his co-star Tatiana Maslany were spotted filming a scene for ‘Stronger’ at the TD Garden arena in Boston, Massachusetts last night after the Bruins game. Photos have been added to the gallery.

Gallery Links:
Official Movie Pictures > Stronger (2017) > On Set At The TD Garden In Boston | April 5, 2016
Miscellaneous > Fan Photos > Filming ‘Stronger’ At The TD Garden In Boston (April 5, 2016)

Jake Gyllenhaal’s surprise St. Patrick’s Day visit at a Boston hospital made several patients feel like they had the luck of the Irish.

The Southpaw, 35, actor stopped by Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood on Thursday in preparation for his upcoming film Stronger in which he stars as Boston Marathon bombing survivor Jeff Bauman.

“He was touring the hospital, just checking things out. They’re just checking out locations and people from the book, and Jeff had been cared for here,” said a representative for the hospital.

During his tour of the facility, Gyllenhaal ran into Denna Laing, 24, a National Women’s Hockey League forward who suffered a serious spinal injury during a game with her team, the Boston Pride. Gyllenhaal stopped to snap some photos with Laing, who shared her celebrity run-in on Twitter.

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Following “Southpaw’s” strong performance at the box office, Jake Gyllenhaal looks to have his eye on another underdog tale, this time following the tragic events of the Boston Marathon bombing.

Sources tell Variety that Gyllenhaal is in early talks to star in Lionsgate’s “Stronger,” which tells the true story of Boston Marathon bombing survivor Jeff Bauman, who lost both legs in the attack. Sources say that after execs met with several A-list actors, Gyllenhaal is the favorite to land the role and that an offer is expected to come shortly.

Lionsgate had no comment.

David Gordon Green recently signed on to direct the pic. John Pollono has adapted the script for “Stronger,” which marks his full-length feature debut.

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