"The Guilty" star Jake Gyllenhaal is no stranger to awkward situations.
A highly-respected actor with three decades of acting experience under his belt, engaging
in uncomfortable scenes is actually one of Gyllenhaal's specialties.
Whether it is breaking down in front of a therapist in "Donnie Darko" or portraying
a morally questionable video journalist in "Nightcrawler," Gyllenhaal has no qualms embodying
the gloom-ridden — which would have most actors quivering in their boots.
Not Gyllenhaal.
He's just that good.
Gyllenhaal has even parlayed his talents into other realms of cinema.
In the 2002 film "The Good Girl," the actor starred alongside Jennifer Aniston in the
critically-acclaimed comedy-drama.
The film follows Gyllenhaal as Holden, an aloof retail worker who soon enters into an
affair with his married co-worker Justine, played by Aniston.
As is the case with most onscreen relationships, the occasional love scene just comes with
the territory, whether the actors are completely comfortable with each other or not.
In an October 2021 appearance on "The Howard Stern Show," Gyllenhaal got candid about his
intimate onscreen experiences with Aniston, nearly two decades after the release of "The
Good Girl."
It was a time the actor described as, quote, "torture" — but why would Jake Gyllenhaal
say so about his experience with a lovable star like Jennifer Aniston?
In his interview with Stern, Gyllenhaal opened up about his experiences filming intimate
love scenes with Aniston for the film.
With the film's whirlwind storyline, love scenes were par for the course, and both Gyllenhaal
and Aniston are professionals with lots of acting experience.
You'd think they'd have no problem with making the intimate moments work, but according to
Gyllenhaal, it was all a strange mix of emotions.
When Stern asked if the intimate scenes were "torture" for him, Gyllenhaal responded:
"Oh yeah, it was torture, yes it was.
But it was also not torture, I mean come on.
It was like a mix of both."
Gyllenhaal went on to explain the "awkward" nature of shooting any love scene in the first
place, which is made all the more complicated by dozens of people in the film's crew watching
as you try to make it all look realistic.
The actor also referred to the love scenes as, quote, "oddly mechanical," comparing them
to learning how to do a dance or a fight scene on film.
It's all, quote, "choreographing for a camera."
But that doesn't mean Gyllenhaal's experience with Aniston was entirely negative.
From "Friends" to "Bruce Almighty" to "Horrible Bosses," Aniston has a track record of embodying
every role she takes on with professionalism and grace.
On top of that, her stunning beauty has left many jaws dropped over the course of her career
— including that of Jake Gyllenhaal.
In a 2016 interview with People magazine, years after they made "The Good Girl" together,
Gyllenhaal was asked what it was like to work with Aniston.
His response was somewhat peculiar, as he jokingly described Aniston as, quote, "a rough
one," and went on to call the actress, quote, "hard to compliment.
Then, Gyllenhaal let slip that, like a lot of young men who grew up watching her on "Friends,"
he'd developed a little crush on her.
As he told People:
"I will say, I... have had a crush on her for years."
Gyllenhaal went on to say that working with Aniston was not hard and was, quote, "lovely."
Gyllenhaal's comments eventually made their way back to Aniston herself, who was interviewed
by Extra in 2016, shortly after her former co-star's own interview about their work together.
When asked if she saw Gyllenhaal's comments about their time making "The Good Girl," Aniston
confirmed that she had heard about his crush, and called it, quote, "adorable," probably
because it wasn't the first time she'd heard something like that from another celebrity.
Aniston then went on to wonder aloud if Gyllenhaal was still harboring those feelings for her.
Aniston's "Horrible Bosses" co-star Jason Sudeikis, who was sitting next to her for
the interview, chose that moment to respond with a perfectly timed joke.
"Yeah, hm...
Why's he bringing it up now?"
We might never know, but maybe it's not too late for Gyllenhaal's crush to pay off.
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