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Jake Gyllenhaal’s Top 10 Rules For Success


great movies have been made out of
mediocre scripts and not great movies
have been made up of great scripts if
you have any wisdom whatsoever you know
to follow you know wherever there is
great energy adulthood is about
compromising it’s all about compromising
how much you compromise before you
compromise yourself you have to work
hard like freedom is on the other side
of discipline he’s an American actor who
began acting as a child with his film
debut in city slickers in 1991 his
breakout role was in the cult movie hit
Donnie Darko for Nightcrawler his
performance was widely acclaimed and one
great rave reviews from critics he’s
Jake Gyllenhaal and here’s my take on
his top ten rules for success rule
number one is my personal favorite and
make sure to stick around all the way to
the end for some special bonus clips I
know there’s something that Jake says it
really inspires you as you’re watching
make sure to leave it in the comments
with quote so other people can benefit
as well someone said to me once that
like a and I know that being my mother
being a screenwriter she’s not gonna
agree with me on this but that you know
great movies have been made out of
mediocre scripts and not great movies
have been made out of great scripts you
know so there is something in that
process because there is out there is a
general kind of philosophy that you need
a great script which I agree with I
totally agree with but ultimately I
think you need an energy you need a
drive and a belief and what you’re doing
and that that belief whatever that is
can change an entire film I can change
anything really what I was always taught
as a kid was to try and listen to myself
and to trust certain instincts you know
to listen to people around me and to use
those instincts to try and guide me you
know and I think you know you get your
on course you’re off course you move
around you’re all different you try this
pad to try that path whatever it is but
I think I’ve just become much clearer
about my instinct and particulate stings
I’m not talking about like oh that
person seems like a knight I’m talking
about the instinct when we talk about
reading this script for this movie and I
all of a sudden thought this guy’s a
coyote it came to my mind and I thought
he needs to be hungry
you know things work in the moment and
then can die off and then things cannot
work in one moment and come to life and
if you have any wisdom whatsoever you
know to follow you know wherever there
is great energy and that’s what I
followed with Denis when we did enemy I
went this guy’s great energy we vibe on
each other and this I got to go with
this like I don’t know what this movies
about but I know when I know this energy
and I know this energy is success
somewhere creative success and that’s
first and foremost to me and that’s what
I follow now and that energy drives a
movie when you watched as an audience
it’s infectious when you see that on the
screen and I see it all the time with
people your year you’re infected by that
energy I think compromised I just
decided to try not to compromise you
know certain things that I you know one
of these things and it’s funny to bring
up my publicist because she was the one
who recommended this documentary to me
but in this documentary that I watched
years ago the promise the one about
Bruce Springsteen you know he said that
adulthood is about compromising it’s all
about compromising how much you
compromise before you compromise
yourself and I think that when I say
there is no compromise and the choices I
mean I don’t know if that’s totally true
but I think it was sort of not
compromising myself you know and trying
to be as mindful and decisions I was
making as possible not only in the
movies but also within scenes and
everything weird thing about becoming a
movie started just kind of happened
strangely that does sort of happen like
it in your and you’re in your 20s I feel
like which is when a majority of all
that stuff started to happen was I think
you just sort of you do the best you
can’t listen to yourself but you also
follow different people’s leads and try
and learn from it so I mean that sort of
ended up happening and then I sort of
hit 30 and I was like wait a second I
want to get back on stage again and do
this thing that I love doing so much and
it just it happened well all of your
choices lately actually I guess for film
as well I mean are you reading the post
at phase so Jake you long for it we put
our or should I say athlete’s foot i I
think yeah yeah yes and no I mean I
don’t know yeah I guess if it’s if it’s
about to me if it’s a if it ends up
being about vanity or something like
that then it’s just the wrong direction
you know and I think ultimately if it’s
about you know what you what you feel
and what moves you and what roles you
want to play or what people you want to
work with or if those are the choices
and that’s how it’s done then I think
you know that’s what fulfills me so
whether it’s post or not I think I
always was doing that you know my
attention always whenever I go into any
creative sort of environment or
experience is to ease to give my all you
know I mean I care a lot you know and
and it always has been like that let me
just say the one thing I do really
really know now is how blessed I am to
be working in this business and that you
have to work hard like freedom is on the
other side of discipline
and when somebody says I want to play
this role in my movie you have a great
responsibility and it’s just bottom line
for me okay and from here on out and it
has been for a while that is I will do
everything I can for that so as long as
the opportunities come I will do my best
and try my best to do the best that I
can do at that moment you care about the
business and the things when you pick
gigs now in terms of this what seems to
be a highly curatorial approach to what
you do does it doesn’t matter if you’re
your agent goes hey man you really
should do this role in Ironman because
it’s gonna be big business for you if my
agent did that we wouldn’t be working
together really yeah because I think
that it it’s you know to me we’re not
talking about we’re talking about you
know I can’t I mean I’m incredibly
blessed you know in in the in the work
that I do in terms of that kind of stuff
I mean that’s just not the discussion
that I want to be having mm you know I
you know it’s just at this point in my
life I believe that I want a state I
want to stay true to a certain instinct
now that instinct changes at times you
know and it will change over the course
of hopefully I get to work more you know
and hopefully you know that you know
I’ll be making different choices and I
might come in here two years from now
and have a different approach but I do
know that it should always be about
something that’s coming from something I
believe in because that’s all that I can
bring you know it’s really all that I
can bring and it’s going to satisfy some
people when it’s not gonna be others
just as people things other people do
satisfy me and some people don’t you
know but if we have that discussion is
to me I just you know it’s not it’s not
one I necessarily want to have to me
became much it’s become much more about
craft and I think actually on a smaller
scale though I think it’s possible do it
on a really big scale but I think that
on a smaller scale I think preparation
is key
that I kind of went back to deciding for
sure choosing preparation over
everything and the amount of time it
takes when you have a lot less money to
use you know and you have to make
choices very specifically and they have
to be kind of prepared much earlier on
so that you’re free in you know a very
small period of space you have a lot
more freedom because of all the
preparation that you’ve done that was
about I mean just in terms of the the
process of acting that’s what I I
started to learn and I did end up watch
this movie with David Ayer now I spent
five months with police officers and
that was from the beginning of realizing
how much I loved preparation and how
much I loved the process before the
performance and I had always loved that
when I was on stage because there’s
always that very formal rehearsal
process that allows you to explore and
use your mind and go to places that are
wrong as well as places that are right
and I love being wrong and right
you know and I love people saying that
idea doesn’t really work for this you
know and I’m an exchange of the director
I love that I love the I love that kind
of I’m bringing an idea and it gets
vetoed or it gets accepted whatever it
is it’s just the ability to bring ideas
and I see that it’s much more possible
to do that within the prep time than it
is in the moment of shooting I was
thinking about this the other day I was
thinking about working with Dustin
Hoffman when I was 20 years old or 23 or
something
and I remember Dustin coming up to me
and him saying to me you know you don’t
have to do so much and I was like what
do you he said you know you carry
everything inside you already like you
you could probably just just stand there
and there’s enough that people could
watch you know and that was expressed
actually while we were doing this movie
I just did in a way that I really like
which is just deliver the pizza you know
and that’s one of the biggest things I
learned which is you know we all carry
with us like everything we do like
everything we’ve been through good bad
whatever and on that and if you can show
up and just literally just deliver the
pizza like you’d be all right
because you’re not really like it’s a
very calm talk about you know just be
speaking poetry you know you know you
don’t have to be the butterfly flying
around you know just say the word
butterfly because people will take from
that their own experience because if you
don’t give credit to the audience and
how intelligent they are and how much
they’re going to be asking already then
you’re done you know I have just learned
to have great respect to the audience
and I we love them and I will do
anything for their minds I know that
sounds
you seem like a pretty ambitious guy
no one does as much as what as you’ve
done bisqui without being an ambitious
guy do you read is jake gyllenhaal
relate at all to that to the notion of
success at any cost
was that drilled into you at some point
um I don’t know if I mean consciously
consciously speaking no I mean I I mean
no and I think what I value as success
as I get older is a lot different than
what it was when I was a lot younger you
know what’s the difference well I mean I
think an immature view of success you
know which I probably can be still
guilty of is all of the things that you
know that you know you you get the
things you sort of dream of you know
money and you know more work and the
work that you wanted all of those things
and I think I now value success is a
much different thing I think I value it
as you know when I see my friends with
their beautiful children or in a in a
working relationship of any kind and all
those things to me that’s real success
so I mean I think that you know when I
have you know when I have a like a great
day with my family or a great day with
my nieces or whatever that’s like that’s
a successful day you know I could come
to the Toronto Film Festival and people
could really love you know a film that
I’m in and that’s successful but it’s
it’s not necessarily how I would now
judge success in a certain kind it’s not
because you sowed your oats I mean it
really is it is it like what did you
want entourage at some point and then
you got it I think I just credit some my
parents and you know hopefully values
that they instilled and
thank you guys so much for watching I
made this video because no-name 11 asked
me to so there’s a famous entrepreneur
that you want me to profile next leaving
the comments below and I’ll see what I
can do I also love to know which of the
10 rules have the biggest impact on you
and why what change you’re gonna make to
your business or life as a result of
watching this video leave it in the
comments and I will join in the
discussion finally I want to give a
quick shout out to Alexis the ruses
Alexis thank you so much for picking up
a cup of my book really means a lot to
me thank you for that support those are
you watching you want a chance that
eyeshadow in a future video make sure to
grab a copy of the book and email in
your receipt so you can keep track thank
you guys so much for watching continue
to believe or whatever your one word is
and I’ll see you soon
really okay let me check my skin I’ll
get back waiting for you it’s all right
well she said she didn’t drink let you
think of man can’t pick up a new habit
what are you doing it man seriously this
is my spot I get on water water just one
drink is a solitary sport it’s a
solitary one tell me I missed Ron I’m
gonna try to connect him I just has been
my long 300 square feet you do nothing
you know you got players you know what
you’re gonna do with all this training
that you think you’re so desperately
needed and what you can do it you know
fight never get my kid back you’re gonna
end up right back here are you saying
but you think that you hear some scumbag
you’re my wife do you think you did to
be Sydney why it’s your wife killed
right uh all due respect no I haven’t
really got much sleep man were you
trying to ask what happened I don’t I
just told you what did you do why he’d
ask me that question
what happened what happened I just told
you what happened what I can’t tell you
why what do you mean it why no money
okay Tina hear the question we clap for
you like even with funny to you
see that that’s what this that’s what
that that’s why you here that’s why you
here it’s all good – yeah yeah yeah
sorry nobody wants your money but oh
I’ve never really had any plans all
right my wife always made the plans for
me and my daughter doesn’t really want
to see me right now
and I feel like that broke her heart
the kid is a little girl trying to take
care of so she’s not some other two even
if she hates you
got a letter H so she can feel better
about it she can get better
this ain’t about how you feel I mean
you’ve got to let her go through her
thing and not think that thing is your
thing you can do it like like that stop
boxing whatever you
you don’t have to worry about losing
either PSP and forensics is finished
with the guys place we’re gonna deploy
the cadaver dogs but kid we can’t always
save the day all right we just got
janitors so you lost this one all right
look II want fulfillment you need to
find a girl you know start a family have
some kids all right go
yeah it’s rich we found something
we understand that you’ve been read your
rights when you’re here voluntarily
that’s right yes and this is being
recorded and filled yes for the camera
up there
wide-angle you tell me how it is you at
the Chinatown Express tonight and call
the 9-1-1 of course they began earlier
in the day I was watering my plant I
looked out my window at my apartment the
one you visited and I saw a dark-colored
vehicle with two men inside parked
across the street I didn’t think
anything of it otherwise I would have
reported it then we began or night my
employee and myself and around
approximately 12:30 8:00 I looked in my
rearview mirror and I saw what looked
like the same men in the same vehicle
following us I made an evasive maneuver
I circled back and tailed into the
restaurant at which point I saw them go
inside and recognize them as the same
men from the home invasion he told me
didn’t see them then that he didn’t get
a good look at them well it all came
back to me when I saw them going in
their shapes and their movements and
then I saw that one of the men had gone
under his shirt and so I immediately got
my phone and dialed 9-1-1
that’s your story that’s what happened
that’s why I’m sitting here with you I
think that the man saw my footage and
they tracked me down you want to know
what I think yes please I think you
withheld information I think you saw the
two men in the murder house in Granada
Hills and you saw the car and you sat on
it to get something you could film what
do you think about that
I think that would be a very
unprofessional thing for me to do in my
business it would be murder I can
understand why you’re looking into it
but I didn’t do anything like that
nothing that could be considered wrong
you don’t fool me for a minute I’m glad
I think everything you said is a lie I
wish my partner was here to back up what
happened
you left your dead partner well the
ambulance has arrived they’re trained
professionals yeah and you seem real
broken up about that no he died doing
what he loved you filmed him die if
that’s what I do it’s my job I like to
say that if you’re seeing me you’re
having the worst day of your life
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