Little did we know Jake Gyllenhaal’s off-the-wall performance in Okja was just the beginning. He’s been as wildly unpredictable as actor’s go for the last couple of years, with roles in Spider-Man: Far from Home, Wildlife, Velvet Buzzsaw, and whatever the Hell that was he was doing in John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch. Now he’s taking another unexpected career turn, with an adaptation of Alison Bechdel’s memoir-turned-stage musical, Fun Home.
DailyMail reports Gyllenhaal will produce and star in an adaptation of Fun Home, which is based on Bechdel’s graphic memoir exploring her childhood and complex relationship to her father, a funeral home director (aka the “fun home”) and high school English teacher. Themes of sexual identity, suicide, emotional abuse, and more explored in a non-linear narrative that makes allusions to other literary works.
Bechdel’s book was adapted into a Broadway musical in 2015, eventually going on to win five Tony Awards, including one for director Sam Gold, who is also on board to helm the film version. Gyllenhaal is expected to play Bechdel’s father, of course. The plan is for Fun Home to begin production around year’s end.
