Jake Gyllenhaal Says He ‘Struggled’ During Early ‘Othello’ Shows: I Was ‘Insecure’

Jake Gyllenhaal received a masterclass in Broadway acting while starring in “Othello.”

The actor, who co-leads the production as Iago alongside Denzel Washington’s title character, told Variety that despite having previously starred in Broadway plays, “Othello” was a whole other feat. It was Washington who helped make Gyllenhaal “calmer” as a stage star, as Gyllenhaal was in a “total panic” about the part.

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“I was beginner beyond beginner. I’m not like this usually. I had to spark my brain with other people’s brilliance. I watched everything I possibly could,” Gyllenhaal said, citing how fellow “Othello” alum Ian McKellen gave him a “renewed inspiration” in the role. (McKellen formerly played Iago on the West End.) In total, Gyllenhaal “spent a year working on it.”

Yet even with all of his prep, Gyllenhaal remained “insecure” about his turn onstage in the role.

“I struggled in the first few previews,” he said. “To fall back on techniques makes me feel insecure. I’m used to doing 10 takes [on film]. If you go home and your voice is shot, you’re like, ‘At least they got it.’ So I do vocal warm-ups before the show.”

Gyllenhaal shared how he even almost turned down the show. “[Director] Kenny [Leon] and Denzel came to me, and I was like, ‘I can’t do this,’” he said. “Then I was like, ‘I can’t not do it,’ and was in total panic.”

Gyllenhaal credited working with Washington to changing his own approach to acting.

“One of the millions of things that I’ve learned from Denzel is freedom onstage. When things change and move, or he doesn’t remember, he’s flowing with it. I set boundaries for myself, and he’s just pushing them. It has made me calmer onstage,” Gyllenhaal said. “I find Iago is different every night. Sometimes it veers into mustache-twirling more than it should, and sometimes he’s just brokenhearted. What’s most interesting about him is he’s not the guy who’s killing people right and left. He’s saying, ‘There’s a knife over there,’ and then somebody else goes and stabs the person with it. It’s very prescient in that way.”

“Othello” also could be getting a film adaptation with Gyllenhaal and Washington reprising their roles, as teased by director Leon.

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