Road House: Jake Gyllenhaal Reveals UFC Octagon Still Had Blood on it When They Shot Their Scene

Gyllenhaal details the "incredible" experience of filming in the UFC Octagon.

By Jenna Anderson

The remake of Road House is now out into the world, with the live-action film making its debut on Prime Video this weekend. The new iteration of the movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Elwood Dalton, the film's central character who is reimagined as a UFC fighter-turned-bouncer. Road House has already caught a lot of attention for utilizing parts of the real UFC world to film its scenes, and Gyllenhaal is revealing some specifics of how that went. While speaking to ComicBook.com about his work on Road House, Gyllenhaal revealed how the experience of filming in the actual UFC Octagon went far beyond his expectations. 

"I come from the theater," Gyllenhaal explained in our interview, which you can check out above. "I've performed on stage many times. It's a thing that I love. So the feeling of performing in front of a large group of people is not new to me, but the feeling of going into the Octagon and pretending to be a fighter at a live event, where they're used to fighters coming in and actually fighting and they didn't know what was going on. Walking in the Octagon, right between the undercard and the main events, there's still blood on the canvas. You're walking into what is a sacred space where people put their lives on the line, their careers on the line. To be able to be allowed in that space, it was unreal. And then the crowd itself. Jay Hieron, who plays the guy who's my opponent, he's an ex-fighter. So he knows the feeling of actually being in that Octagon. I remember Jay whispering to me right before he began, he was like, 'You can punch me in the face for real if you want. Let's go.' because the audience and the crowd is so intense. But also, they kind of knew who was good and not good in it. When I would throw a punch and land it, they cheered. We were all high for a week after that, our stunt crew, our production crew, all the people who have performed in front of the camera. It was a dream. I never thought I would ever be in there, and to be in there was incredible."

What Is the Road House Reboot About?

Road House stars Gyllenhaal as Dalton, an ex-UFC fighter trying to escape his dark past and his penchant for violence, in this adrenaline-fueled actioner. Dalton is barely scraping by on the reputation that still precedes him when he is spotted by Frankie (Jessica Williams), owner of a roadhouse in the Florida Keys. She hires him to be her new bouncer in hopes of stopping a violent gang, working for crime boss Brandt (Billy Magnussen), from destroying her beloved bar. Even five to one, Brandt's crew is no match for Dalton's skills. But the stakes get higher with the arrival of ruthless gun-for-hire, Knox (Conor McGregor). As the brutal brawls and bloodshed escalate, the tropical Keys prove more dangerous than anything Dalton ever faced in the Octagon.

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Road House is directed by Doug Liman, and also stars Daniela Melchior, Joaquim De Almeida, Lukas Gage.

Road House is now streaming exclusively on Prime Video.

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