Jake Gyllenhaal recently recounted an amusing yet unexpected incident during the filming of the much-anticipated remake of ‘Road House’. MMA icon Conor McGregor accidentally hit Jake Gyllenhaal in the face during a shooting.
The remake of Road House is set to debut on Amazon Prime on 21 March. It features Jake Gyllenhaal alongside Conor McGregor, marking McGregor’s debut in feature films.
The film’s plot is based on the 1989 original starring Patrick Swayze as the famed bouncer James Dalton recruited to bring order to a club. However, Swayze’s actions anger the town’s powerful local crime leader. In the upcoming 2024 remake, ‘Dalton’ is a middleweight contender in the UFC. He finds himself employed at a road house in Florida.
Gyllenhaal plays the lead role, but McGregor’s inclusion in his debut feature picture offered the Hollywood star a great chance to get some guidance from the greatest icon in mixed martial arts. Although McGregor and Gyllenhaal became close during the shooting, their relationship did experience an unintentional rocky point.
When asked whether McGregor had ever unintentionally struck him, Gyllenhaal said to Virgin Radio: “He did. He did, yeah. That’s just what happens in these types of films. When you see the movie it’s just full of these crazy fights and so inevitably, something crazy happens like somebody slips and misses.”
“But it was only really once in particular when we were watching playback on the screens and he was trying to coach me and he’s like ‘just take your right hand and throw it a bit more’ then he hit me.”
One of the strongest left hooks in the sport, McGregor has knocked out may in an attempt to win UFC title. But unlike in the cage, this time he did not respond with joy.
Gyllenhaal humorously recounted McGregor’s apologetic reaction: “He was like ‘oh my god, I’m so sorry’ – it wasn’t even on screen!”
Gyllenhaal acknowledged McGregor’s transition from the octagon to the silver screen, expressing admiration for McGregor’s commitment despite the challenges of adapting his combat instincts for on-screen combat.
He said: “As soon as I heard he was accepting the role I was so excited and then I was like, ‘oh no’ because I’d have to fight this guy – or at least fake fight this guy.”
“What I realised it that he knows how to fight, obviously, but he doesn’t know how to fake fight so he had to unlearn loads of things. I had to remind him constantly just before takes, ‘remember, you don’t need to actually punch me in the face’ and he’s like ‘oh, right right right!’”
“You know, in his mind it’s like he was ready to really do it. So, first of all, I’m glad for my own memory that I reminded him but he didn’t and he was really sweet.”
Having not competed in the UFC octagon since losing to Poirier in 2021, McGregor is preparing for his comeback to the UFC.