Jake Gyllenhaal Says Getting in Shape for Shirtless Road House Scenes ‘Took a Village’ (Exclusive)

Jake Gyllenhaal doesn’t take all the credit for himself Road House stature.

During the film’s premiere at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin on Friday, the 43-year-old actor revealed to PEOPLE that his role as Elwood Dalton in the remake of the 1989 hit “took a village” to make it happen.

“I will tell you that I am where I am — 10 years ago I did it myself Southerner, which is another fight movie, and I was in second place. My body was, I knew I needed help with nutrition and I knew I needed to protect myself from injury and I also needed to be able to have the aesthetic of the whole role,” says Gyllenhaal.

“Balancing all of that required a group of people who helped me throughout.”

Jake Gyllenhaal celebrates his 43rd birthday wearing a Patrick Swayze shirt in front of his Road House Remake

Jake Gyllenhaal is attending the 2024 SXSW Conference and Festival.

Gary Miller/Getty

Crediting his “amazing” trainer Jason Walsh and “wonderful” chef Paulette Tejeda, as well as a nutritionist, Gyllenhaal adds that he had “an amazing group of people who kept feeding me, making it happen, making sure there was flexibility.”

Walsh previously spoke to Insider about Gyllenhaal’s work ethic, saying that VersaClimber classes at Walsh’s fitness studio also helped him get in shape.

“But we trained for about an hour, an hour and a half, every day before work,” Gyllenhaal tells PEOPLE. “And then we always had to taper back depending on what the schedule called for. So if the schedule called for more fighting and action where I needed more energy, we’d do less. And then you’d kind of get that throughout the day. So yeah, whatever is that village and I listened to what they said and this is the result.”

The results of his regimen are clear in the sneak peeks Gyllenhaal showed fans ahead of Friday’s premiere.

In the movie, Brokeback Mountain The actor plays a former UFC fighter who, after ending his fighting career, becomes a bouncer at a bar in the Florida Keys. He appears alongside Conor McGregor, Jessica Williams, Post Malone and Daniela Melchior in the remake of the 1989 Patrick Swayze film.

Jake Gyllenhaal goes out for Road House Premiere and screening at SXSW

Patrick Swayze appears in ‘Road House’ from 1988.

United Artists/Getty

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Gyllenhaal made sure to thank original star Swayze in a touching Instagram post ahead of the film’s release, calling him a “great man.”

Swayze died on September 14, 2009 at the age of 57 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

“He was such a talent and I still have so much respect and admiration for what he put out into the world,” Gyllenhaal wrote in the post. “I’ll never forget his kindness to me when I was starting out – he didn’t have to take the time, but he always did. We did it differently Republic of Croatia this time, but hoping you’d have fun watching it!”

Road House will be released on Prime Video on March 21.

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Source: HIS Education