One of the most gloriously unhinged, and in my opinion, wildly entertaining performances of the year belongs to Jake Gyllenhaal‘s turn in “Okja.” Playing a wildly unhinged animal lover and television celebrity, Gyllenhaal’s Johnny Wilcox is like watching Steve Irwin after he’s consumed a couple of six-packs of Red Bull. Squeaky voiced and bug eyed, there is nothing small about the performance, and it has proven somewhat divisive. However, Gyllenhaal couldn’t be more pleased that audiences can’t make heads or tails of what he’s doing in Bong Joon-Ho‘s film.
“I love that,” Gyllenhaal told EW about the reactions. “I just really love that when one thing can vacillate between one end of the spectrum and the other. And that was the point of the character. From the very beginning, Bong said to me, ‘We have to hate you and you have to be bad.’ That was the goal and, well, I’d say we reached it. And so some people really love that and some people just think it’s genuinely bad. That’s fine.”
“That’s the reason why I do my job, for reactions like that,” he added.
Well, if the goal was to get people talking about his work in “Okja,” mission accomplished. Whether you think it’s his best or worst turn, it’s certainly the most performance Gyllenhaal has done in his career. Thoughts? Let us know in the comments section.
