Jake Gyllenhaal Thinks He Lost Brain Cells During His Everest Training

Throughout the actor's infamous run in Hollywood, which unleashed an assortment of Jake Gyllenhaal movies on audiences over the years, the star himself has undeniably had to endure many challenges to pull off many of the compelling performances that make up his prolific body of work. Among the many hardships he has had to face that caused some intriguing reactions, the high altitude training required for him to star in the 2015 feature "Everest" proved to be a mind-blowing experience for all the wrong reasons.

It's no secret that climbing Mount Everest is a very dangerous endeavor, and it turns out that pretending to do so in a movie can also prove, at times to be a less-than-stellar ordeal. Jake Gyllenhaal experienced this firsthand during training for the film based on the events from the 1996 Mount Everest disaster. "The altitude training lingered for at least a day. I mean, talk about an experience that made me feel like my brain had exploded," Gyllenhaal said while chowing down on spicy wings on Hot Ones. After describing his knockout experience on prepping for the film with co-star Josh Brolin at 36,000 feet, he also added how he really feels about it years later. "But I think I lost a number of brain cells which is how I'm getting through this today." While some were obviously better than others, it seems pretty evident that Gylhnehall had a lot of takeaways from his time scaling Everest cinematically. It really shouldn't come as a surprise to fans that Gyllenhaal would go to such great lengths to ensure audiences get an outstanding performance, considering what he's had to go through for other parts he has played in the past.

Certain roles require more from actors, and sometimes they become a much more exhausting experience than initially expected. But no matter what, those that choose to take on the acting profession persist no matter what the circumstance. Jake Gyllenhaal is most certainly one of those individuals who have had no issue doing whatever was necessary to give an authentic performance, even if it means overcoming certain mental and physical obstacles along the way.

When he was on the set of the psychological thriller "Nightcrawler" as Lou Bloom, the odd yet efficient video news freelancer, an intense sequence in the persona's bathroom left the actor requiring medical treatment in the form of several stitches. The incident involved a scene where the character destroyed a mirror out of frustration, and Gyllenhaal experienced a cut on his hand during a take. Luckily he wasn't out of commission long, thanks in part to his dedication.

The actor also admitted that when he played Mysterio, he, unfortunately, had to overcome a considerable amount of anxiety in "Spider-Man: Far From Home," which caused some issues while filming. "I remember not being able to remember my lines. I was the wooden board," Gyllenhaal revealed in an interview. "And they were like, 'Whoa.' And I went up to Tom Holland and was like, 'Dude, help me out.' He's like, 'It's all good, man. Just relax.' It was like he was me in so many situations." Thankfully he had Spider-Man there to help him get through it. It shows that whatever the situation Gyllenhaal finds himself in, he manages to get the job done even if the situation is not always ideal.