Jake Gyllenhaal: On ‘Ambulance’ and his Michael Bay experience

You’ve got to have that little bit of crazy in you to be one of the industry’s most bankable stars, and nobody epitomises that more than Jake Gyllenhaal. The actor, born into one of modern-day cinema’s most prestigious film families, has been a commercial and critical darling over the last two decades.

Be it his surreal turns in Denis Villeneuve’s psychological thrillers  Prisoners and  Enemy, or setting our pulse racing in neo-noir dramas  Nightcrawler and  Nocturnal Animals, or endearing to audiences across the world with his romance-for-the ages alongside Heath Ledger in Ang Lee’s  Brokeback Mountain, Jake’s repertoire is Hollywood royalty at its finest.

More recently, the 41-year-old, whose major breakthrough came with the cult classic  Donnie Darko in 2001, also entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe and faced off against Tom Holland in  Spider-Man: Far From Home with one of his most memorable performances; the project also became the first Spidey film to pass the billion-dollar mark

.Now, he is part of another big-budget universe — that of hotshot Michael Bay’s — as he takes on the reins in  Ambulance. Described as a modern-day “ Speed on steroids,” the actioner follows two adoptive siblings-turned-bank robbers (Jake and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) who steal an ambulance occupied by a paramedic (Eiza González) and an injured cop, with the entire Los Angeles police cavalry hot on their heels.

Entering Bay’s manic world

In typical Bay fashion, the narrative is a spectacular extravaganza of fast cuts, stylised choreography and dramatic explosions. But surprisingly — at the centre of it all — lies an emotional core, revolving around the connection between two brothers, and the unwavering resolve of a first responder.

After finishing the project, Jake stated that after years of doing intense characters (some of which required him to tap into the darkest of emotions), he wanted to have “fun” on set, and a Michael Bay flick was the perfect recipe for the same.

But weeks of being trapped inside the confined space of an ambulance — that is hurtling at breakneck speed — and dealing with everything from helicopter chases to fistfights inside a moving vehicle… doesn’t exactly sound enjoyable, or was it?

“While working with someone like Michael Bay, every day was a fun experience; you really didn’t know what to expect. I loved that. I’m in a phase of my life where I’m enjoying improvisation in any form, and so many sequences were shot like that,” Jake recalls, talking to  The Hindu over a video call.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays the role of a criminal named Danny Sharp in the film
| Photo Credit: Pascal Le Segretain

It’s obvious he had a blast filming Ambulance; his depiction of the character Danny Sharp as a deranged heist genius has a gloriously hammy vibe to it, and Jake carries the film throughout, keeping it from becoming too serious even during the most explosive of scenes.

“For instance, the heist scenes had so many cool aspects to it. Michael actually put a drone inside the bank that constantly flew towards me, and once it just came a bit too close to my head, and I had to duck to avoid it taking off my face!” (laughs)

His admiration for the blockbuster filmmaker is palpable. Though Jake is no stranger to starring in big-budget commercial movies ( The Day After Tomorrow, Source Code, Spider-Man), working with someone like Bay — legendary for his high-concept action sequences — was a whole different beast in itself.

“Another time, out of nowhere, he suddenly said that we were going to film helicopters chasing us in the ambulance… and I was stunned, because it wasn’t in the script at all. Yep, that’s Michael for you; he just had two copters available. So then, we had to figure out that scene on the spot — me shooting at the helicopters from inside a speeding ambulance by the Los Angeles river — in as real and practical a manner as possible. It was… well, crazy,” Jake grins.

Bromance, and then some

Ambulance also sees Jake deliver some brilliantly comic zingers — tapping into a side of his which audiences don’t get enough of — and much of that is due to his fantastic repartee with co-star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. How did the two develop such an easy chemistry?

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Jake Gyllenhaal in ‘Ambulance’
| Photo Credit: Andrew Cooper/Universal Pictures

Jake says, “We didn’t know each other earlier, but I was familiar with Yahya’s work of, course. The truth is, it was so easy to be friends with him because of his energy and who he is as a person. He’s a good man; someone who is not afraid as an actor to be vulnerable. There was absolutely no ego stuff between us. Also, both of us have very close relationships with our families and siblings, so there’s a natural understanding of what it is to be brothers and how much we care. Hence, the bond on-screen developed very naturally.”

This combination also brought together stars from two of the biggest superhero franchises in the market today; Jake portrays Quentin Beck / Mysterio in Sony/ Marvel’s  Spider-Man Universe, while Yahya is David Kane / Black Manta in DC’s  Aquaman.

Did the duo discuss any superhero affairs on set? Maybe some spandex banter at the very least? “Naaaah, we don’t exchange trade secrets! I wanted his focus really to be on the driving, to make sure he didn’t crash us somewhere,” Jake laughs and signs off.

In Yahya land

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is well and truly big-time now, with his recent outings including  Candyman, The Matrix Resurrections (in which he played Morpheus),  Ambulance, and the upcoming  Aquaman sequel. All theatrical releases, the 35-year-old has quickly become a favourite for studios and directors to cast in tentpole films.

 “It’s nice to think of it that way, but the truth is that I’m having an amazing time making these films and my main motive is to make people smile. It’s really cool that these movies are inviting people back into the theatres, at a time when it’s safe to do that. That whole edge-of-the-seat experience that films like these provide… audiences have missed that, and now it’s needed more than ever before,” he says.

Yahya adds, “Within the story of  Ambulance, there’s a lot of what I go through with my own brother. The closeness, tension, arguments, humour… and the ease. Off-screen, at the end of the day, Jake always had my back and my best interests at heart.”

Ambulance is currently playing in theatres