Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim didn't have to like each other to star in Guy Ritchie's new movie — it just happened that way
- Jake Gyllenhaal told Insider "Guy Ritchie's The Covenant" marks the first time he's ever cried watching himself on screen.
- Dar Salim said his character reminds him of his parents who fled Baghdad with him when he was a child.
Sitting in a room staring at a camera, Jake Gyllenhaal takes a deep breath and flashes a quick smile over Zoom.
He's all business.
Setting a serious tone makes sense. His latest movie, "Guy Ritchie's The Covenant" (in theaters Friday), is yet another example of what Gyllenhaal has been drawn to over his 32-year career on screen: projects filled with complexities and drama.
And what better way to promote it than to have a laser-focused stare?
Gyllenhaal prepares for the first question. However, it's not for him but for his costar Dar Salim, sitting next to him. Suddenly the star's demeanor changes as he takes in Salim's answer, even laughing when he's given his first question.
Comfort quickly sets in as the two actors speak candidly about working together on the project.
Gyllenhaal plays Army Sergeant John Kinley, who, during the war in Afghanistan, is rescued by his platoon's interpreter Ahmed, played by Salim, following a bloody firefight with the Taliban. Ahmed saves Kinley's life by dragging him for days to safety through the mountains. Later, back home in the US, Kinley learns Ahmed and his family is still in Afghanistan hiding from the Taliban. Unable to get his superiors to extract him, Kinley returns to the country alone to repay his unspoken debit and get Ahmed out.
In typical Guy Ritchie fashion, the visuals and action are significant pillars of the storytelling. But Insider's conversation with Gyllenhaal and Salim, a skilled character actor known for his work on Danish television, highlights what makes this action war movie unique: two people from opposite sides of the world forging an unlikely bond.
Here Gyllenhaal and Salim speak about how they built the story around a sparse script; Salim explains why, as an Iraqi, the film was important to him; and Gyllenhaal reveals why the movie marked the first time he'd ever cried watching something he'd starred in.
Dar, what was more challenging, Guy Ritchie's very scaled-down script or dragging Jake around?
Dar Salim: Oh, that's a tough one! [Laughs.] I have to say Guy Ritchie's script. The first week I had to take a deep breath or two to remind myself, "I got this." Because you are working with people who are the best in the world so you want to impress them.
Pushing Jake around was just the bonus. I like the physical stuff. It helped the character. And Jake was laying there, and two or three people were hired to throw stuff in his face. Rubble, blood. It was very uncomfortable for him, which obviously was very comfortable for me.
Jake, did you mess with Dar a little? Throw some rocks in with you on the cart to make it heavier?
Jake Gyllenhaal: No. I was just there for him. He obviously enjoys seeing me get beaten up. [Laughs.]
The lifeblood of this movie is the unique relationship that forms between your characters John and Ahmed. Jake, over the years how did you figure out the best way to go about gaining a connection with your costar so a story like this works?
Gyllenhaal: The nice thing about this movie, and what I think makes it interesting, is that there is no real bond between these two people. It's an arranged marriage. They are reluctantly connected all the way until the end. So it's not about making a bond. It's a promise that one makes to the other that he had to go back into danger to make good for him. And he doesn't do it for some sentimentality, or because he's a good guy. It's really basically that John cannot go forward with his life and fully be alive unless he goes back and fulfills a promise. And that's what I loved about it.
But Dar and I have gotten along from the moment we met.
Was that a bummer, honestly? With what you just said, would it have been good if you didn't like Dar?
Gyllenhaal: It's a lot more fun to play that you don't like each other than actually not liking each other.
Salim: And it also takes a lot of generosity by Jake to lead the other guy in and relax enough on a set to be able to play the way we play in this movie. It feels comfortable. You stop yourself from trying too hard.
Dar, was there any friendly competition between you and Jake? Was there a scene that you were like, "I'm going to act the hell out of this scene and kill it?"
Salim: You want to kill all the scenes. But it's never a competition. If you think like that, you're going to fail. Don't tell the other actors that, but it does not work like that. The more generous you are towards your colleagues it will come back to you and the camera will notice. When you try to do stuff like that, it's a waste of time, and often the director isn't going to use the footage.
But I will say, before we began shooting, I was concerned I was going to fade away next to Jake because he's such an amazing actor. I didn't know. I finally just focused on what I needed to do and did my job and let the movie gods do the rest.
Jake, many will instantly think of "Jarhead" and the prep work you did for that when thinking of you doing a war movie. Did you do anything similar for this?
Gyllenhaal: Since then, I've played ex-military and been trained by amazing technical advisers. I've handled live weapons off-set, so, yes, "Jarhead" was the first time that I had ever played someone in the service, but the foundation has been built over many years. So filming this, I used everything I've learned. And then with the technical advisers on this movie, Special-Ops sergeants, they were there with us every day and kind of updated for me that stuff I had learned in the past.
Dar, you were born in Baghdad and fled to Denmark very early in your life. Do you see a family member in Ahmed? Or did memories of yourself as a child come back when you made this?
Salim: I think one of the strongest attributes an actor can have is empathy, which can be painful in your daily life, but you can understand what they are going through. A guy like Ahmed, for me, represents my parents' generation. It's not easy to flee your country when you're in your 30s and 40s and leave everything behind. So for me, it was emotional, and I find some pride in playing a guy like him from that part of the world and making him relatable to the European and American audiences. Showing that, look, he's a guy like John.
This reminds me of the scene where John reconnects with Ahmed later in the movie —
One of my favorite scenes! And it's done basically with so few words.
Salim: Yeah.
Gyllenhaal: It's a great scene — the physical distance between the two.
Salim: But you know, there's no doubt that the appreciation is there. Instead of Ahmed saying, "Oh, it must have been incredibly hard to find me," it's all inside him and he doesn't have to say it.
Jake, we see you in some very intense scenes in this movie. I think fans of your work would be curious to know how you power down after doing a very emotional scene. Have you learned over the years how to just turn it off, or does it take a while?
Gyllenhaal: It's a strange job that we do, relaying our emotions and feelings like that. Over the years, it's become a technique, and you kind of learn to craft a space where you can play when the camera is rolling. And you have to prepare yourself for those things and understand the very simple questions that we ask ourselves as actors all the time: "Where is he coming from?" "Where is he going?"
But these stories stay with you, and they are a part of you, and it's the reason why you want to do them. So it works in both directions. There's a part of me that wanted to do it, so my heart is in it, so it's a part of me. And I do carry with me the experiences that I've had, and they don't ever really go away in a lot of ways. So the characters [and] experiences, they are with me always.
I will say this, though: I don't think I've ever watched a movie that I've been in and it's made me cry. This movie did when I saw it, which I was very surprised by.
What part made you cry?
Gyllenhaal: It was the ending. The very end. I was also very emotional in the very first firefight of the movie, when everything goes sideways. Guy tells a story, particularly through action, he really tells an emotional story. I was surprised how much it would mean to me, that first firefight scene. It really got me.
I can't really watch myself on screen, but the story here came through, and it just reminded me what we are as Americans and world citizens. Doing good is not without grudge or complications and a lot of complexity. This is a movie that says doing good is through action and, like what you said, oftentimes it's not what is said, it's about what's done.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.