Conor McGregor is one of the most entertaining MMA fighters to ever grace the octagon. Whether you love him or hate him for the way he struts around talking smack, it’s no surprise that fans have been all over his performance in Jake Gyllenhaal’s remake of the classic ‘80s action movie Road House. It sounds like Gyllenhaal had quite the experience with “The Notorious,” as he recalled the routine they had to go through before every take because McGregor kept trying to punch the actor in the face for real.
Jake Gyllenhaal paid a visit to the Smartless podcast to talk about the Road House remake (which is available to stream now with an Amazon Prime subscription), and he had plenty of positive things to say about the UFC star. The actor called Conor McGregor “amazing” and credited the fighter for coaching him through their fight scenes. However, when the cameras started rolling, McGregor apparently had to be constantly reminded not to actually hit Gyllenhaal. The star explained:
Every time, we’d have to say to Conor, they’d be like, ‘We’re rolling, OK, marker,’ and then it’d be like, I’d have to say — even two months into shooting — ‘Remember, don’t hit me in the face. Like, remember that.’ And he’d be like, ‘Oh yeah, right right right.’ It was that every time, before every take.
It sounds like Conor McGregor’s instincts kept kicking in, because he’s definitely not used to throwing pretend punches when faced with an opponent in the octagon. It’s hilarious that Jake Gyllenhaal was still having to go through this routine with the UFC’s former two-belt champion months into shooting, but I understand why he did it, because I wouldn’t want to be hit in the face by McGregor either.
Unfortunately for the Jarhead star, he really did get “clocked” by Conor McGregor during one particularly late night of filming, so I’m sure he wanted to do everything possible to avoid that situation again.
Much of the buzz surrounding Road House has centered around the mixed martial artist in his first movie role. In the CinemaBlend review of Road House, Eric Eisenberg calls the movie “super violent and super funny,” while our own Sean O’Connell proclaims that Conor McGregor steals the show and is the main reason to stream the movie.
They’re not alone, either, as many critics have praised the UFC fighter, even saying he’s one of the reasons the remake is better than the 1989 original. Hopefully this will lead to Conor McGregor tackling more acting projects in the future, but his forthcoming co-stars should still be on the lookout if they happen to end up locked in a cage with him.
If you haven’t checked out Jake Gyllenhaal and "The Notorious" Conor McGregor in Road House yet, you can do so on Amazon’s Prime Video, and be sure to also take a look at our 2024 movie calendar to see what other films are premiering soon.
