The first picture of Jake Gyllenhaal in Southpaw has been released.
The Nightcrawler actor gained 15 pounds of muscle to take on the role of boxer Billy 'The Great' Hope.
The film follows Hope, a Junior Middleweight Champion, who loses everything in a personal tragedy and is forced to fight his way to redemption.
In an interview with Deadline, director Antoine Fuqua said he's excited for people to see how much Gyllenhaal has changed and grown into a leading man for the role.
"Jake is going to change how people see him. I had him training twice a day in the boxing ring, seven days a week.
"I pretty much had him with me and my trainer every day. I took him to almost every fight. I had him train at Floyd Mayweather's gym in Vegas and we watched Floyd's fights, and the Manny Pacquiao fight.
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He trained in New York at Church Gym with real fighters. We literally turned him into a beast… Jake, my god, he's a very electric, powerful fighter in this movie, and a guy who fights for his daughter.
"I'm confident that this will change how people see Jake as a leading man."
The film was originally meant to have Eminem take on the role of Billy Hope, but he stepped down to focus on music.
Starring alongside Gyllenhaal in the film is Rachel McAdams, Naomie Harris, Forest Whitaker, Victor Ortiz, Tyrese Gibson and Miguel Gomez.
There is no UK release date for Southpaw as yet.
Tasha is a freelance writer for with a particular interest in the representation of women in film and TV. After graduating with a Literature degree then journalism qualifications with News Associates a few years further back than she’d like to admit, Tasha began her freelance career. She’s worked as a writer, editor and commissioning editor for a number of publications including Digital Spy. She is also a theatre critic. LinkedIn
