Jake Gyllenhaal's eagerly-anticipated movie, "Road House," finally made its way to our screens recently. This action-packed film is a modern take on the 1989 classic starring the late Patrick Swayze. In the latest iteration, Gyllenhaal plays Dalton, ex-UFC fighter-turned-bouncer, much like Swayze's character in the original cult favorite. While the gripping storyline is enough to keep you hooked, Dalton's many eye-catching tattoos, in particular, caught the attention of many viewers who wondered: are any of Jake Gyllenhaal's tattoos real?
Going into the project, Gyllenhaal knew he had big shoes to fill to live up to the fans' high expectations who revere the beloved classic. In part, his character's ink collection serves as a reminder for him to do justice to Swayze's legacy while also paying a touching tribute to the late icon. Although the tattoos look incredibly intricate and realistic on screen, they were, in fact, fake and designed for the film to pay homage to the veteran actor.
"What was important to me, before we started, was, you know, this role was originated by Patrick Swayze," Gyllenhaal told Decider, touching on the sentimental importance of the remake before revealing how the tattoos are an ode to Swayze. "And I knew Patrick; we did this film 'Donnie Darko' together, and he was always so kind to me, so I just wanted to honor him and bring him there, so I have a couple of different kinds of tattoos in honor of Patrick that when I put them on in the morning, I'd just be reminded of the history of this piece and just the origins of it, which was good to remember every day."
Those who have watched the Doug Liman-helmed movie might have noticed that Dalton's tattoos subtly pay homage to the "Dirty Dancing" actor. The most noticeable design on his left forearm features a detailed artwork of a dragon, likely a nod to Swayze's 2004 movie "George and the Dragon." In another scene, when he's tending to his stab wounds, the initials "PS" can be seen written across his abdomen, a potential acronym for Patrick Swayze.
As for Gyllenhaal, if you're wondering whether he has any real tattoos of his own, the 43-year-old actor set the record straight in the same interview, clarifying that unlike his co-star Connor McGregor, he doesn't have any ink that needed covering while filming. "Road House" isn't the first role Gyllenhaal has donned fake ink for. He has worn fake tattoos for his roles before, such as in his 2013 movie "Prisoners" and his 2015 film "Southpaw" to add depth to his fictional counterparts as the screenplay demands.
So, there you have it - Gyllenhaal has remained ink-free thus far, which makes perfect sense given his occupation. Many actors, like Pete Davidson and Hilary Duff, have opened up about the strenuous process of spending hours in the makeup chair covering up their existing tattoos. Whether Gyllenhaal will ever get an actual tattoo remains to be seen.
Ina Bansal is a contributor at PS, where she writes for the Beauty vertical.