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The Frame 'First': How Jake Gyllenhaal was inspired by Denzel Washington to become an actor
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Nov 12, 2014
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The Frame 'First': How Jake Gyllenhaal was inspired by Denzel Washington to become an actor
Jake Gyllenhaal talks about how watching an emotional performance in "Glory" inspired him to become an actor.
(L-R) Jihmi Kennedy, Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman in the 1989 film "Glory." Washington won Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance.
(L-R) Jihmi Kennedy, Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman in the 1989 film "Glory." Washington won Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance.
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AP
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Jake Gyllenhaal talks about how watching an emotional performance in "Glory" inspired him to become an actor.

During our recent interview with Jake Gyllenhaal around the opening of his current film, "Nightcrawler," he told us how watching a particularly emotional performance inspired him to become an actor: 



The first time that I knew that I wanted to be an actor, and I saw a piece of acting that made me feel that way was seeing "Glory" when I was a young boy. And watching Denzel Washington in the scene where he looks in the camera while he's being whipped. I remember ... the way he looks in the camera and the performance in that moment ... with great vulnerability and great strength in the same moment. And I realized that was something I wanted to strive for. Not only as an actor, but also as a person. To try and be open and vulnerable and, at the same time, be strong. 

Washington won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1990 for his role in "Glory":