In an interview, former Saturday Night Live star Will Forte listed Jake as one of his favorite guests on the show:
Q: After working on SNL for 8 seasons, which guest hosts did you enjoy working with the most?
A: Through 8 seasons, there were a lot of guest hosts I had the honor of working with. I would have to say Will Ferrell, Jake Gyllenhall, Jack Black, Josh Brolin, and, of course, Alec Baldwin.
That seemed like a good reason for a look back. And it is Saturday.
The ads got us excited for the show. But nothing could have prepared us for the monologue. SNL musical director Katreese Barns talked about Jake's performance:
Do you have a favorite part of the process? Saturday night, when the sketches come together, can be really magical. Like when Jake Gyllenhaal performed his version of the "Dreamgirls" song - that was a really rewarding moment for me. It was a Thursday night when he had the idea to sing the song, and they called me down to rehearse with him. On Friday, we brought in some backup singers, and he started gaining more confidence, and then by Saturday night he blew me away.
It wasn't all singing. There was dancing, too!
And we can't forget the Bronx Beat:
Or all those little extras:
The Washington Post named Jake one of the "Most Surprisingly Funny SNL Hosts." Clearly, they haven't paid attention to Jake's interviews.
Jake has also appeared two other times. In September, 2007, he had a cameo in a now classic Digital Short:
And in the spring of this year, Jake was a surprise guest on Weekend Update:
Jake Gyllenhaal made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live. He did a sketch with old friend Andy Samberg, who played a hilarious Nicolas Cage. If you missed it or just want to see it again, watch this before it gets pulled!
Backstage, Jake met La La Vazquez, reality star and wife of fellow SNL cameo-er, Carmelo Anthony:
Saturday Night Live was AMAZING! @carmeloanthony was hilarious and look who I met, he's the nicest guy ever!
Saturday afternoon, Jake attended a performance of The Book of Mormon, a new Broadway musical from the creators of South Park. The play has gotten rave review - wonder what Jake thought of it?
Also getting raves? Source Code. The tomatometer is going strong while the box office is lagging behind the reviews. Predicted to fall in the mid-teen range, Source Code deserves a bigger audience. Here's hoping great word of mouth leads to greater legs for the film.
It’s 6 p.m. on a Friday night, and Jake Gyllenhaal is keeping someone waiting. No, not Reese Witherspoon or Taylor Swift, with whom Gyllenhaal has had high-profile, tabloid-manna relationships in recent years, but a German shepherd named Atticus, who Gyllenhaal insists is the someone special in his life.
“He’s not getting his full workout tonight because his father is working,” the 30-year-old actor says in his good-natured, soft-spoken voice. “We might as well get it out there on the table: I’ll be going home in about an hour and watching a movie with Atticus.’’
One thing Gyllenhaal can count on with Atticus: the dog isn’t hanging with him because he’s a movie star. That’s important to a man who says that, in choosing roles to play onscreen and people to be in his life offscreen, he’s looking for the same thing. “I can smell when it’s not real.” Gyllenhaal says. “I can feel it. It has to feel real. Otherwise it’s a waste of time.”
And from another account of a SXSW roundtable, we get a flattering perspective on Jake:
On opening night of South by Southwest 2011, Duncan Jones’ Source Code celebrated its world premiere with a packed house at the historic Paramount Theatre in Austin. There was an electricity in the room, and most of it was buzzing about the arrival of Jake Gyllenhaal, the star of the film and the object of affection for more than a few of the females present.
A brouhaha in the bathroom, where a patron tried to snap a picture of Gyllenhaal at the urinal, circulated quickly and became legend, but you wouldn’t notice a hint of hesitation from the actor when he strutted to his seat on the aisle and kindly addressed the adorations of nearby fans. I was sitting rather close (I must have photo-bombed a hundred Facebook pictures), so I had a front row seat for the uncharacteristic nuttiness over this 30-year-old.
Which is why I was thrown when Gyllenhaal sat down with us the following day for an interview and he had ditched the confident swagger of a major celebrity. A charmer and a jokester, without a doubt, but Gyllenhaal was also equal part Donnie Darko, slouched with an uncomfortable shyness, and spoke with an eloquent intelligence you might not expect from an actor best known for his glistening Prince of Persia pecs and tough guy roles.
You spend half the movie with an actress and then the other half by yourself. How was that? Because this is the first time you’ve been isolated like that, you know, besides Bubble Boy.
Jake Gyllenhaal: Right, I guess there’s a similarity there. [laughs]
Michelle Monaghan had more nice words about Jake in the Hollywood Reporter:
From a professional standpoint, he cares so much about the integrity of the script and the story. He puts his best foot forward every single day.”
“And on a personal note, I had so much fun. He’s super nice, he’s fun, he’s charming, and he doesn’t take anything too seriously and that’s like ace in my book,” she adds. “I promise all the girls out there: He’s a dream.” Finally, a belated but heartfelt Happy Birthday to FL, from all of us and Jake's eyeballs:
Thanks to get real for this scan of Jake Gyllenhaal from the lastest issue of InStyle. Jake's almost-modeling glasses and discussing his history of poor vision and his involvement with New Eyes for the Needy, which helps people get glasses in developing countries, as well as the United States.
Jake is passionate about the subject and did this video for the cause last year:
Though Jake is committed to helping get glasses to people in need, he hasn't been spotted wearing glasses himself. We'll keep an eagle eye out.
In other news, there's a report that Jake will host the December 5th episode of Saturday Night Live. Can it be true - will Jake actually be seen promoting Brothers? It's the weekend the movie opens, as if we need to remind you.
Who could forget Jake's first hosting gig, in January of 2007. Will we get more singing?
Rumored musical guest 50 Cent has a couple of Jake connections. For one, Jake drove future brother-in-law Peter Sarsgaard crazy by blasting "Candy Shop" every day while driving to the Jarhead set. Secondly, Brothers director Jim Sheridan helmed Get Rich or Die Tryin', which was loosely based on the rapper's real life. Maybe Jake and 50 can do a warped Brothers/Get Rich skit!
We'll keep you updated for official confirmation. Maybe Natalie will make a cameo! She and Jake and 50 Cent can all do a rap together.
Stephanie just uploaded some stills from Jake Gyllenhaal's memorable Saturday Night Live appearance from January, 2007. It all started out routinely - albeit beautifully. Jake appeared for the monologue and was wearing what looked like an awfully loose suit:
Then things took off! Or Jake did. He stripped off the suit to reveal a stunning gown and set of pipes. Behold JEffie:
I cannot tell you how many times I played that clip! Here is a version, if for some reason you still haven't seen it or just want to relive the moment!
Oh, and here's how JEffie might have looked - from dress rehearsal. They definitely picked the better wig:
Some of the other show highlights. I have a soft spot for Frank O'Connor - as did the Bronx Beat ladies:
Finally - who could forget the evil Dr. Scientist from Laser Cats 2:
To go back to the Sands of Time theme from yesterday, I snagged a couple of photos from the Sydney Morning Herald of yesterday's Sydney dust storm. Amazing, beautiful, ethereal - remind you of anyone/anything? Also, no doubt, a huge hassle. But the images are stunning:
And here's the prince who wants to control what controls the sands of time - in Lego form:
Some more photos of the PoP Lego line. Just prototypes. Someone suggested they used Indy's face for the Prince. At least, I think that's what the comment meant.
Oh, and don't forget the Ain't It Cool early PoP review.
