In a recent interview with Howard Stern, the actor admitted that he was reduced to tears when his parents (Director / Producer Stephen Gyllenhaal and Writer Naomi Foner) — both in the movie business at the time — wouldn’t let him accept a role in the 1992 film.
“I definitely remember crying on the kitchen counter,” Gyllenhaal told the shock jock, “I was like, ‘You guys are crazy!'”
But US Weekly reports that his parents believed he needed to focus on school first and foremost.
“My parents were like, ‘Look, you’re about to enter junior high school, you gotta get your education, that’s the most important thing. I promise you, you hate us now, but you’ll thank us later.'”
Gyllenhaal concedes that he is now grateful that his parents didn’t let him act in the film but at the time, missing a chance to join Joshua Jackson in the flying V must have been devastating. And that wound probably deepened when the film became a hit, spawning two sequels and even an NHL franchise.
Luckily, the actor’s folks didn’t stand in the way for much longer and Gyllenhaal has had an illustrious career, in which The Mighty Ducks would have been just an amusing tidbit of trivia. Still, we bet preteen Jake contemplated running away to Hollywood for a while, especially as he sat in math class and listened to the other kids talk about that cool hockey movie that just came out.
Gyllenhaal is now one of the hottest commodities in the acting world and his latest film has him playing a tough-as-nails boxer whose life is on the ropes. Southpaw hit theaters on July 24, 2015.
