Jake Gyllenhaal’s Remake Adds Fast & Furious Villain Actor
Jake Gyllenhaal is putting together quite the remake, as famous MMA star Conor McGregor has been cast, and now a Fast & Furious villain has joined too.
There is something to be said about 80s cheese. The joy of not taking anything too seriously and accepting the cheesy one-liners, the unbelievable action, and being able to take a movie for what it is created the popcorn flick. The 80s brought us the buddy-cop Lethal Weapon franchise, Terminator, and Beverly Hills Cop to keep our action needs satisfied. One of the biggest cult-classic action films to grace the screens in the 80s came in 1989 in the form of the in-your-face action flick, Road House. The film saw Patrick Swayze as one of the best coolers in the game, cleaning up the newly refurbished Double Deuce in the small town in Western Missouri. While the job seemed like any other, it pitted him against a corrupt wealthy town leader and his band of henchmen. Now, the inevitable remake has landed a new actor alongside Jake Gyllenhaal.
Deadline reports that Joaquim de Almeida has joined the already stacked cast. He is most well-known for his roles as villains in movies such as the Harrison Ford-led Jack Ryan thriller, Clear and Present Danger, and the Antonio Banderas action thriller, Desperado. He also has taken his villainous roles to television, such as Season 3 of 24 and Queen of the South. His most recent villains were the main antagonist of the fifth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise, Fast Five, and a double-crossing agent in the Ryan Reynolds/Samuel L. Jackson action-comedy, The Hitman’s Bodyguard. According to the IMDb page for Road House, Almeida will be portraying Sheriff Black. In the original, law enforcement turned their heads away from the wealthy Brad Wesley (Ben Gazzara). If Almeida’s filmography is any indication, he will most likely be a corrupt sheriff in the small town going against Jake Gyllenhaal.
While Road House (1989) was a bonafide action movie, and the remake certainly will be as well, its lead stars aren’t known for their action roles. The late Patrick Swayze was more known for his sandwiching his action hero role between Dirty Dancing and Ghost. Jake Gyllenhaal is similarly known for his acting prowess more than his physical presence. Although, he is no stranger to physical transformation. He completely transformed his body and learned boxing for his role in Southpaw. His new role will require a similar transformation and stepping outside of his comfort zone to pull it off.
Road House is penned by Anthony Bagarozzi, who wrote Nice Guys and is attached to write the Shane Black/Dwayne Johnson superhero film, Doc Savage. He is joined by Nick Cassavetes, who wrote Blow and Alpha Dog, directed John Q and The Notebook, and appeared in Face/Off and Life. Also included in the cast in an unknown role is MMA superstar Conner McGregor. In the original Road House, Patrick Swayze was assisted by a mentor played by Sam Elliot. This role may be meant for McGregor in the remake. While a remake of an 80s classic is always a gamble (see Total Recall for proof), the addition of Joaquim de Almeida to the film lends a little assistance to Jake Gyllenhaal and gives the film a little more credibility. Now all that we ask is that Cassavetes and Bagarozzi see fit to have at least two people look at Gyllenhaal and exclaim, “I thought you’d be bigger.”
