Jake Gyllenhaal is taking his acting career pretty seriously these days, he's always been up there as one of Hollywood's finest talents since Donnie Darko made him a big talking point, even going to extremes by losing 30lbs for his role in latest flick Nightcrawler, for which he is hotly tipped to bag himself an Oscar nomination.
But now he has undergone yet another big body transformation - and you would barely even recognise him. The 33-year-old star has made huge gains since his skinny look as sociopath Lou Bloom in Nightcrawler and is now seen a muscle bound hunk in his next big film, Southpaw.
The flick, from The Weinstein Company sees Jake take on the persona of world champion boxer Billy Hope who hits rock bottom and faces an epic struggle to win back his former life for the sake of his daughter. It's visible for all to see just how hard Jake has worked to become this character with his huge rippling muscles making him unrecognisable at first glance.
Jake as beefed up boxer Billy Hope in Southpaw (The Weinstein Company)
The movie's director Antoine Fuqua recently spoke to Deadline about the incredible transformation. He said: "Jake is going to change how people see him. I had him training twice a day in the boxing ring, he did two-a-days seven days a week.
"I pretty much had him with me and my trainer every day. I took him to almost every fight. I had him train at Floyd Mayweather's gym in Vegas and we watched Floyd's fights, and the Manny Pacquiao fight."
In stark contrast a thin, gaunt looking Jake as Lou Bloom in Nightcrawler (Bold Films)
If his dedication to the part pays off as much as we think it will it looks like Jake could be set to become one of the most valuable actors in the industry, even more so than he already is.
Southpaw is currently in production and also stars British singer Rita Ora in the cast in an as yet unanounced role. Forest Whitaker, Rachel McAdams, Naomie Harris and 50 Cent are also line up to star in the film.
