USA TODAY International Edition
Gyllenhaal enters superhero universe
Actor is comic book villain Mysterio in “Spider-Man: Far From Home”
LOS ANGELES – It’s not easy being the new guy entering the superhero universe. Jake Gyllenhaal discovered this donning his elaborate, extremely heavy (45 pounds) uniform to portray Mysterio in his first comic-book movie, “Spider-Man: Far From Home” (in theaters Tuesday). With the massive chestplate lit up impressively by lithium batteries and a “Game of Thrones”level cape, the cutting-edge costume required nearly an hour to get him fully armored. There was no quick workaround if nature called during long hours of shooting.
Meanwhile, co-star Tom Holland, in his second solo outing as Spider-Man and fifth movie appearance, has seen strategic zipper modifications made to his one-piece supersuit for that very need.
“It’s one of the faults of my firstborn suit, that it lacks the zippers to go to the bathroom, which Tom can tell you is important,” shrugs Gyllenhaal, who carried on. “It’s all good. You regulate your water intake throughout the day.”
That’s the thing about hiring a pro like Gyllenhaal to star as the longtime comic-book villain Mysterio, who goes against type jumping in to save the world with the web slinger in “Far From Home.” Once the Oscar-nominated actor committed to playing a superhero, he was going to knock it out, uniform imperfections and all. And if there were long “Hamlet”-level discussions
in which he pondered joining the Marvel universe at age 38, amid one of Hollywood’s most ambitious and undefinable careers, Gyllenhaal isn’t going to air them.
The time just seemed to be right, and the perfect opportunity presented itself, says a chilled Gyllenhaal, kicking back on a patio sofa at the Four Seasons Hotel. The actor only feigns Jake-intensity, full-eye contact as he explains his final internal pre-Mysterio debate.
“When thinking about a character like this, you always have to grapple with the idea that probably you’ll be called that on the street. So I had to ask a simple question: Is this a name I want to have screamed from down the block? And I thought, ‘Yeah,’ ” Gyllenhaal says, bursting into laughter. “If someone screams,
‘Mysterio!’ I really don’t have to turn around because everyone will think the guy is a little crazy anyway. I can just keep on walking.”
He shouldn’t be too sure of that. “Far From Home” even offers a handy explanation for the carnival sideshow name. After the unknown superhero swoops into Venice, Italy, to fight a monstrous water elemental, Italian newscasters dub him “Mysterio.”
Mysterio, whose real name is Quentin Beck and who hails from an alternate universe, immediately fills the aching paternal void for Peter Parker after the exit of Robert Downey’s Tony Stark in “Avengers: Endgame.” Director Jon Watts says he fleshed out this crucial theme even further during filming, based on the palpable chemistry between Gyllenhaal and Holland, 23.
One “Far From Home” scene features Gyllenhaal looking eerily like Stark when putting on the billionaire’s sunglasses.
“Jake could almost transform into him,” says Watts. “It was surreal, the shapeshifting.”
Gyllenhaal and Downey are longtime friends. Gyllenhaal was working on 2007’s “Zodiac” with Downey as the actor was about to take on his industrychanging superhero role.
“Robert had told me he was going to do this ‘Iron Man’ movie,” says Gyllenhaal, who was thrilled to watch Downey’s Hollywood profile explode with the new role. “To have seen someone who was almost uninsurable at one period of time then become the biggest star in the world and have that happen in such a short period of time. One of my biggest lessons watching that was you never know who is going to be where and what opportunities they are going to be given. Even in the next moment.”
Gyllenhaal is making the most of this moment. He and Holland have started their own very public bromance to back up their film relationship. “I just really like the dude,” Gyllenhaal says. “And he’s a good human being. I’m not alone in that thought.”
Further, Gyllenhaal is able to funnel his intellectual curiosity, his acting superpower, into every aspect of Mysterio. He even pondered the Mysterio beard, an additional step away from the comic-book character. “Jake and I spent hours and hours and hours discussing his beard, the level, the jawline. There’s a lot of beard talk,” says Watts.
Gyllenhaal won’t fully discuss his reasoning for introducing another beard into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is no small deal. “There are reasons for it. Reasons I cannot get into right now,” he says. “But, yes, (the beard) had to be approved by a whole bunch of people.”
There’s a lot Gyllenhaal says he’s loved exploring. As the name suggests, Mysterio is a complex character with many layers. Discussing them would unveil big-time spoilers. But they were satisfying to pull off.
“There are reasons I love this character, and the reasons I love the character will be revealed. It’s why I wanted to play the character,” says Gyllenhaal, who resorts to the most comically exasperated face while lifting his hands up in a “help me” shrug to stop one seemingly basic line of questioning. “There are so many things that are happening with Mysterio. But it’s a tricky thing to talk about.”
Even as Gyllenhaal moves on to new pursuits, prepping for a Broadway run of “Sea Wall/A Life” that starts previews in July, and heading to London’s West End next spring with “Sunday in the Park With George,” he has the happy thoughts of the “Disco Inferno” beat he could light upon his chest.
“When you first put it on, it takes a second to fully commit to it,” says Gyllenhaal. “But right now, I kind of crave it.”