Jake Gyllenhaal Talks His Intense Role in ‘Nocturnal Animals’

Nocturnal Animals, a psychological thriller based on the 1993 novel Tony and Susan by Austin Wright, is currently in theaters and features a slew of stars, including Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Isla Fisher, Armie Hammer, Laura Linney, Andrea Riseborough, and Michael Sheen.

Check out the film’s official synopsis from Focus Features:

From writer/director Tom Ford comes a haunting romantic thriller of shocking intimacy and gripping tension that explores the thin lines between love and cruelty, revenge and redemption. Academy Award nominees Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal star as a divorced couple discovering dark truths about each other and themselves in Nocturnal Animals.

BackstageOL’s Dave Morales recently sat down with Gyllenhaal to talk about his intense role in the film.

“It was brutal,” Gyllenhaal said of the role. “It was just sort of this consistent kind of powerlessness, and then just getting kind of hit with news right and left. This character is kind of hit in the worst ways, but in a way in the book, he, you know, he gets his due in the end because he’s written this book even though the character in the book gets kind of beaten up. And it is a real metaphor for heartbreak, you know, so kind of the way it feels when those things happen in our lives.”

Watch the full interview below: