Jake Gyllenhaal shares unusual advice Guy Richie gave him for new war movie

Jake Gyllenhaal has spoken about the creative process of working with British director Guy Ritchie that forced him to “let go”.

Gyllenhaal stars as a US army sergeant in Ritchie’s latest film, The Covenant, in which he and an Afghan interpreter take on Taliban forces.

During a new interview on the popular YouTube show Hot Ones, the actor was asked whether it was “daunting” or “liberating” working with a director who gives actors “a lot of space to explore”.

“The thing that I love about my job is that you get to work with so many different minds,” Gyllenhaal responded.

“With Guy, it was like nothing I’d ever done. He said to me, ‘Don’t memorise any of your lines,’ and the script came in at 50 pages. It wasn’t even a fully written script.”

He continued: “Usually, scripts are like 110 pages, and I was like, ‘What is this?’ when he first sent it, and then he said, ‘You come to set, and we’ll work on it each day, and then you’ll shoot it.’ It was one of the most inspiring creative experiences I’ve ever had.”

The 42-year-old actor is currently also filming the remake of Road House, in which he plays a former UFC fighter.

The star recently surprised fight sports fans at UFC 285 when he appeared for a weigh-in alongside former UFC fighter Jay Hieron.

Gyllenhaal shouted at the crowd while standing on the scales and, after Hieron’s character was weighed, the pair performed a fictionalised altercation. He then watched the real fights with Conor McGregor, who also stars in the movie.

The Covenant is scheduled to be released on 21 April in the US and internationally by Amazon Prime Video.