'Never known anything else': Jake Gyllenhaal on his legal blindness
Hollywood actor Jake Gyllenhaal recently revealed how his visual impairment has positively impacted his acting. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Gyllenhaal admitted to viewing this condition as "advantageous." He told THR, "I've never known anything else. When I can't see in the morning, before I put on my glasses, it's a place where I can be with myself." Gyllenhaal has been wearing intensive corrective lenses since the age of six.
Meaning and contributing factors to legal blindness
WebMD says, "Normal vision is 20/20. If you're legally blind, your vision is 20/200 or less in your better eye or your field of vision is less than 20 degrees. That means if an object is 200 feet away, you have to stand 20 feet from it in order to see it clearly." "An estimated 1.1M Americans are legally blind. Some conditions, like glaucoma, cataracts, diabetes, and macular degeneration can [contribute to this condition]."
Gyllenhaal's visual impairment influenced a memorable performance
Gyllenhaal was born with a lazy eye that "naturally resolved" and now has a 20/1250 vision. At times, this visual impairment has shaped specific performances. In the 2015 boxing film Southpaw, he removed his contacts for a scene where a police officer informs his character of his wife's death, enabling him to "listen more closely." The film also starred Forest Whitaker and Rachel McAdams.
Gyllenhaal's childhood struggles with visual impairment
Despite the advantages his visual impairment supposedly brings to his acting, Gyllenhaal confessed that it made him an "easy target" for bullies during his childhood. In a conversation with The Telegraph, he said, "I was an easy target...and I was always a sensitive kid." "I say this with a smile on my face by if you walk the world expecting respect you are going to be disappointed."
Gyllenhaal was injured on-set during 'Road House' remake
Separately, Gyllenhaal recently shared an incident from the set of director Doug Liman's remake of the 1989 cult classic Road House, where he starred opposite Conor McGregor. During a fight scene, Gyllenhaal sustained an injury that led to a staph infection after placing his hand on broken glass. The injury caused his entire arm to swell up. "I was really, really trying to take care of everything that we did. I didn't sustain any major injuries," he shared.
