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

The actor talks about his friendship with co-star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, shooting explosive action sequences, and more

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.

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?