Jake Gyllenhaal survives the harsh terrain of Iceland

The Hollywood star makes a guest appearance on ‘Man vs Wild’.

ISLAMABAD:

Jake Gyllenhaal, 30, is known for his versatility as an actor and for choosing gutsy roles — in 2005, he played the part of frustrated marine Anthony Swofford in Jarhead and, on the opposite end of the spectrum, Jack Twist in the controversial Brokeback Mountain in the same year, earning himself a cinematic double whammy.

Straying far from his comfort zone in tinsel town, Jake is now hell-bent on proving his mettle as a survivor and athlete. On Monday, July 11, he made a guest appearance on the season premiere of the Discovery Channel’s “Man vs Wild”, alongside host and, usually, sole cast member, British adventurer extraordinaire Bear Grylls. The extreme outdoorsman demonstrates his survival skill and nature savoir-faire by stranding himself in harsh environments and remote locations. To show his viewers how to stay alive long enough for a potential rescue, he’s gone as far as eating eyeballs and drinking his own urine to nourish and hydrate himself in the wild.

But for the kickoff episode, Grylls had to accommodate his celebrity co-star and keep him safe while, at the same time, making him risk his safety and sanity to perform the necessary feats to stay alive.

Grylls chose the snowy and glacial terrain of Iceland for a two-day trek with Gyllenhaal.

“You could try to get down to it, yeah?” said Bear to his uncertain looking companion, red in the face from the cold, suggesting Gyllenhaal climb down a snowed-in hole to reclaim a sheep carcass. “Just gut it and cut off the head. You know, even the fleece, we can sleep in that,” added Bear. Just one of the many gruesome tasks this California A-list undertook with Bear’s guidance and under his watchful eye.

The Hollywood hunk who looks like he belongs on a yacht somewhere near the coast of Greece, rather than the cold wastelands of Iceland, even travelled the length of a precarious rope spanning a distance across two cliffs, with nothing but leagues and leagues of doom below. Surprisingly, Jake performed to complete satisfaction. “For me, it’s all about discovery,” said Gyllenhaal. Dedicated and unflinching, the actor even made a meal of a slimy worm for some much needed ‘protein’.

It wasn’t easy but it paid off. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Bear praised Jake’s efforts: “You’ve got to admire somebody when they step out of their comfort zone and put their life in somebody else’s hands. I was very clear with him and said, ‘Come on your own, and trust me’.” And trust Bear Grylls is exactly what the young actor did.

A great many questions were raised by Gyllenhaal’s people regarding adequate safety measures and protection. Grylls insisted there was no way he could totally ensure anything: “You can’t predict what’s going to happen in the wild — that’s what makes the show edgy.”

However, many sources doubt the legitimacy of the show and its “edgy” texture. Some claim Bear is a fake and has slept in luxury hotels, equipped with all the comforts unknown to the wild, when he should’ve been roughing it out in the underbrush. In Gyllenhaal’s case, there’s absolutely no doubt that the actor didn’t receive deferential treatment off-screen: The show’s central focus is primarily demonstrating how to survive in the wild. This means neither Grylls nor celebrity guests are arbitrarily left to their demise by producers hungry for reality drama without the fear of consequence. Still for what it’s worth, Gyllenhaal did justice to his inner bushman onscreen; and not every Hollywood thrill-seeker can claim doing the tightrope to cross a lethal drop or eating worms for sustenance. It’s always good to know actors are sometimes willing to get their hands dirty for more than just handprints on concrete outside the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Hollywood.



Published in The Express Tribune, July 13^th, 2011.