Jake Gyllenhaal likes being the ‘odd guy’

It was quite an uphill task for actor Jake Gyllenhaal to prepare for his character in Jean-Marc Valee’s Demolition, that looks at 'grief' in a very different way. The story centres around an investment banker who finds himself in emotional turmoil after the death of his wife.

Speaking of his character, Jake says, “He starts off in a conventional way and ends up with an unconventional journey. He feels what he feels and ultimately is oblivious to how society tells him to feel. That's uncomfortable as an actor. It's not what you've been told grief is supposed to be, but discovering as you go along.”

The role required Jake to learn to bottle up his feelings and that did not come easy. “It was particularly challenging. I am not familiar with that kind of behaviour,” he says. So then there’s nothing of Davis in the real Jake “Growing up, like anyone else, a lot of times I was lost trying to figure out what I feel. I was trying to become an actor. In my 20's I tried to follow convention more but as I got a little older I realised that I should follow what I believe in. That's brought me great joy and my own type of success. I love the sense of being that odd guy. And I think that’s how Davis feels,” says the actor.

The scene where he breaks down the house has created quite a stir. He was most scared of filming that scene. “I am not a great dancer and to let loose like that in front of the camera with all these strangers watching me was terrifying. But Jean-Marc just told me to go for it and I did. He built half of a house and gave us the tools to destroy it. He kicked off the demolition work to relieve his own stress on set. He really looked forward to breaking some windows,” says the actor with a laugh, adding that everyone later became 12-year-olds on the sets.