Road House: Jake Gyllenhall Constantly Reminded Conor McGregor to Not Really Punch Him in the Face
Jake Gyllenhaal describes what it was like trying to get Conor McGregor to learn the difference between movie fighting and real fighting - without getting bruised.
Road House (2024) is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, with Jake Gyllenhaal (Spider-Man: Far From Home) taking over the role of "Dalton" a fighter and bar bouncer (or "cooler") who runs afoul of some mobsters in a small town.
The Road House trailer hasn't made it a big secret (or Spoiler) that eventually the bad guys call in a heavy-hitting fighter of their own, Knox, who is played by former UFC Champion Conor McGregor. McGregor is already generating social media buzz for his over-the-top performance as a mad dog enforcer, but Jake Gyllenhaal had to worry about his co-star's wildness for a very different reason!
When ComicBook.com sat down with Gyllenhaal for the Road House (2024) press junket, we had to know: did he get left with some very real bruises from those brutal-looking fight sequences with McGregor?
"I mean look, I think Garrett Moore and Steve Brown, who designed a lot of the fights, they had a tough job to try an up the original. And they did have an incredible crew, but a lot of the stuff we designed was meant to be pretty close contact, you know? And grappling. And There were a lot of unknown factors that come in when you're fighting like that. And yes, Conor is the main unknown in that way because he is used to really fighting and we had to fake fight. So constantly throughout the journey before takes I had to be like 'Remember... don't actually punch me in the face.' And he'd be like 'Oh right, right, right, right.' Then I'd be like 'Oh my gosh.'
But he understood, he was incredible as a guide and a teacher through that whole process. But there were times we pushed those spaces, and I think they're some of the best stuff in the movie."
Road House (2024) will be Conor McGregor's first big movie role – so Gyllenhaal may not be kidding when describing how he actually had to remind McGregor that the fake fighting was just that – fake. Not to say that McGregor would actually try to hurt Gyllenhaal because he obviously knows it's a movie. But today's audiences know that stunt choreography is a technical science, where the bar has been raised by franchises like John Wick. Throwing punches that don't land but still look fantastic on camera isn't easy to pull off – let alone sequences of UFC-style bar brawls where grappling and mixed martial arts have to look as brutal and ugly as real-life fighting is.
Ironically enough, an actual champion fighting like Conor McGregor probably had to do the most to re-learn how to move and fight, in order to help director Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow) get the shots he needed. But so far, the results seem worth the effort, based on social media reactions to the film.
Road House (2024) is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
