Jake Gyllenhaal, Eminem, Miguel Gomez Strike Boxing Poses At Southpaw Premiere

Southpaw actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Miguel Gomez posed alongside rapper Eminem at the film’s New York premiere.

Southpaw New York Premiere

Gyllenhaal, Gomez and Eminem all raised a clenched fist on the Southpaw red carpet as photographers snapped away. While Gyllenhaal and Gomez star in the film as rival boxers, Eminem was the executive producer for the film’s soundtrack.

Incidentally, Eminem, who starred in director Antoine Fuqua‘s 8 Mile was initially tapped to play the lead part of Billy Hope. When he dropped out, Gyllenhaal was called on to take over.

“Jake did an incredible job,” Eminem said of Gyllenhaal’s performance at a screening of the film in his hometown of Detroit. “Jake smashed it, Antoine killed it, 50 [Cent] killed it. Everybody in the movie is great, in my opinion. I’m super-excited to be a part of it.”

In order to prepare to play boxers, both Gyllenhaal and Gomez decided to do everything they could to embody a professional athlete.

“I spent five months training and also going to so many fights [including two Mayweather bouts and two Pacquiao matches] and watching so much fight footage,” Gyllenhaal told The Hollywood Reporter.

Gomez, who plays Miguel Escobar in the film, said that they “went to training camp like we were real fighters,” adding, “We were with real fighters and living the clean lifestyle just like fighters do. We just dedicated ourselves to becoming pro fighters as best we could.”

Southpaw hits theaters July 24.