Jake Gyllenhaal has played villains before – most notably as Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far from Home – but he’s arguably never gone as far in his portrayal of a bad guy as he does in Michael Bay’s new thriller Ambulance.
The popular actor stars as Danny Sharp in the film, a career bank robber who finds himself commandeering an ambulance as a getaway car when a planned heist goes horribly wrong, with half of the LAPD soon on his trail.
It’s a big, flamboyant turn – complete with all sorts of ranting and raving – and in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com, Gyllenhaal revealed that he was given lots of leeway by Bay to take the performance as far as he wanted.
“I did a lot of improvisation with Michael,” he said. “So I got big and wild, and that was the fun we had. And he used a lot of it. So for me, it was just… I love giving directors a whole spectrum of things, and they choose to use what they want. And in my case, he used a good deal of the yelling!
“But we were always laughing at the end of it,” he added. “And that was the fun part – I would do something crazy or I’d improv something and Mike would always go, ‘This is so stupid.’ But then we were always laughing at the end of the take – so as crazy as the character may seem, we were all laughing at him.”
Speaking more generally about the character, Gyllenhaal explained: “You know, in a lot of ways, he’s in the most strange position in that he’s a bank robber. And that’s, like, not a respectable job.
“But I always looked at it like he loved his brother so much. He was going to do this heist, and then when it goes wrong, the only thing he can think about is making sure that his brother and his brother’s family are safe, and gets what they need. Even – and I don’t want to give anything away – at the very, very end.”
![""]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2022/03/Ambulance-Jake-Gyllenhaal-Yahya-Abdul-Mateen-II-4344f6c.jpeg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"\"")
That brother is Will Sharp, played by Watchmen star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. It’s explained early on in the film that the character was taken in as an adoptee by Danny’s family as a child, and the pair have remained close even though their lives have gone in very different directions.
“Both of the characters grew up in a way not being seen or really allowed to be who they were,” Gyllenhaal explained when asked about the relationship between the pair. “In my case born into a family and his case brought into a family that were bank robbers, so that’s just jarring for everyone.
“But what we did have, outside of any of that, was a real connection, something that was like a brotherhood. And so for us, we always discussed it was all about love. To get him into that van, he was too smart to just try and convince him and manipulate him.
“It was like, we love each other. We know how to do this, come with me. And that’s what brothers do. That’s what siblings do, you know? And that was really important to both of us.”
Ambulance is showing in UK cinemas from Friday 25th March 2022. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide or visit our Movies hub for all the latest news, interviews, and features.
The latest issue of Radio Times is on sale now – subscribe now to get each issue delivered to your door. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times podcast with Jane Garvey.