• Intelligencer
  • The Cut
  • Vulture
  • The Strategist
  • Curbed
  • Grub Street
  • Subscribe to the Magazine Give a Gift Subscription Buy Back Issues Current Issue Contents
    Subscribe to New York Magazine
  • Subscribe
  • Profile
    Sign Out
The Cut
  • Style
  • Self
  • Culture
  • Power
Style
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Parties & Red Carpet
  • Fashion Shows
  • Cathy Horyn
  • The Cut Shop
Self
  • Health & Wellness
  • The State of the Uterus
  • Parenting
  • Advice
  • Sex & Relationships
  • Horoscopes
Culture
  • Books
  • Television
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Celebrity
Power
  • Politics
  • Work
  • Money
  • Rebecca Traister
More
  • Latest Stories
  • Video
  • About Us
  • nymag.com
  • New York Magazine
  • Intelligencer
  • Vulture
  • The Cut
  • The Strategist
  • Grub Street
  • Curbed
now smell this
October 20, 2017

Here’s How Jake Gyllenhaal Ended Up Reciting Poetry to a Child

By Kathleen Hou

Share

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Pin It
Photo: Samantha Deitch/BFA.com/Samantha Deitch/BFA.com

“Hot dad” the internet screamed yesterday with the release of Jake Gyllenhaal’s Calvin Klein Eternity ad, which depicts him, Liya Kebede, and 4-year-old actress Leila as a happy, little family. “That’s redundant, I feel like all dads should feel that way,” Gyllenhaal said, when asked at a press round table about the reaction. More undeniable is that this new iteration of the Eternity concept is unusual, in an industry where many perfume ads feature beach writhing and longing glances in floral fields, and are so over-the-top they become parodied on SNL. Aware of this, Gyllenhaal told the Cut about how he wanted his ad, directed by Cary Fukunaga, to be different and he stressed, “simple,” and why a particular e.e. cummings poem became significant. Read his thoughts below and click through the slideshow for photos of him, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Mario Sorrenti for last night’s dinner celebrating the ad’s release.

“It’s born out of the idea that Calvin [Klein] had come up with Eternity during a period in his life when he was about to have a family and was leaving behind some of his old identity. The idea of family struck me because I thought, Oh wow, there’s an amazing opportunity to deflect away from the way people look at fragrance. In the mix of the ideas was a love story idea. And then, we talked about, What if we added a child in the mix. Cary [Fukunaga] came on. I remember [Leila], out of all the kids who came in, she came right in and got up on my lap. She went to my beard and went, [mimicking] ‘Cut, cut, cut.’ And I thought, she’s the one.

Then we thought, let’s put everyone into a room and pick a couple of things and activities, [film it], and see what comes of it. We were just looking for something about behavior and connection. The child will inherently call bullshit on anything that doesn’t feel real.

First, we thought we would start with asking kid questions, so we Googled lots of questions kids ask like, ‘Why is the sky blue? Where did I come from?’ We were ready to do that. We picked 6 to 7 different poems, like several e.e. cummings poems, Walt Whitman and Shel Silverstein. We had a painting we were going to do.

We started the questions and it was weird. I would whisper questions in her ear and she was like, Why, what? It didn’t feel real. That didn’t really work. We painted too, that was also weird. At one point, I was like, Just draw a line! And she did, but it was not really fun. At one point, she said out loud, ‘I’m really bored.’

We started reading some Silverstein poems and she got kind of tired while reading certain ones. Then the e.e. cummings poem came up. Maybe it was the word play, the nonsensical quality, or the word love, she immediately woke up and was completely present. She would smile when I read it. I kept reading it over and over again.

The whole process in making this film has been like that. It’s not like some plan. This was not our intention. The idea was free and like, Let’s try and spend some time together and see what happens. Love is simplicity, that is what this is, that feels honest to me. We worked really hard to communicate something that felt as real as it could be for a fragrance campaign, and the simplicity is what I am most proud of. Love is about the little tiny moments, as opposed to the big ones.”

View
1 / 14 Photos
Mica Arganaraz, Julia Nobis   Photo: Samantha Deitch/BFA.com/Samantha Deitch/BFA.com
Helena Christensen   Photo: Sam Deitch/BFA.com/Sam Deitch/BFA.com
Jake Gyllenhaal  Photo: Samantha Deitch/BFA.com/Samantha Deitch/BFA.com
Maggie Gyllenhaal   Photo: Sam Deitch/BFA.com/Sam Deitch/BFA.com
Mary Sorrenti, Mario Sorrenti   Photo: Samantha Deitch/BFA.com/Samantha Deitch/BFA.com
Raf Simons, Jake Gyllenhaal, Liya Kebede   Photo: Samantha Deitch/BFA.com/Samantha Deitch/BFA.com
Margaret Zhang   Photo: Samantha Deitch/BFA.com/Samantha Deitch/BFA.com
Liya Kebede, Raf Simons, Jake Gyllenhaal  Photo: Samantha Deitch/BFA.com/Samantha Deitch/BFA.com
Liya Kebede, Clemande Burgevin Blachman   Photo: Samantha Deitch/BFA.com/Samantha Deitch/BFA.com
Zanita Whittington   Photo: Samantha Deitch/BFA.com/Samantha Deitch/BFA.com
Desiree Gruber, Kyle MacLachlan   Photo: Samantha Deitch/BFA.com/Samantha Deitch/BFA.com
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jake Gyllenhaal, Raf Simons   Photo: Samantha Deitch/BFA.com/Samantha Deitch/BFA.com
Bryan Yambao   Photo: Samantha Deitch/BFA.com/Samantha Deitch/BFA.com
Lena Lademann   Photo: Samantha Deitch/BFA.com/Samantha Deitch/BFA.com
1 / 14

Tags:

  • beauty
  • now smell this
  • style
  • top stories
  • jake gyllenhaal
  • maggie gyllenhaal
  • calvin klein
  • calvin klein eternity
  • perfume
  • scent
  • cary fukunaga
  • liya kebede
  • fragrance
  • leila
  • More

More Galleries

met gala 2023 May 2, 2023
Met Gala 2023: All the Looks  See all the dresses, some on-theme and some, well, not so much — honoring Karl Lagerfeld at the Met Gala. 
By Brooke LaMantia
oscars 2023 Mar. 12, 2023
Oscars Red Carpet 2023: Every Look  Rihanna! Florence Pugh! Michelle Yeoh! They’re all here. 
celebrity Feb. 19, 2023
All the Best Looks From the 2023 BAFTAs Red Carpet  Florence Pugh, Barry Keoghan, and Angela Bassett brought color to the red carpet. 
grammys 2023 Feb. 5, 2023
Every Look From the 2023 Grammys Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Lizzo, Bad Bunny, Adele, Doja Cat, Jack Harlow, Mary J. Blige, Sam Smith, and more.
By Brooke LaMantia
Jan. 10, 2023
All the Looks From the 2023 Golden Globes  Sheryl Lee Ralph, Jenna Ortega, Jessica Chastain, Julia Garner, Jeremy Allen White, Angela Bassett, and more. 
parties! Sept. 23, 2022
Katie Holmes, Chloë Sevigny, and More of the Bestest Party Pics This Week  Chanel, Mejuri, and more celebrate. 
parties! Sept. 16, 2022
Doja Cat, Lil Nas X, and More of the Bestest Party Pics This Week  Fendi, Frame, and Coach all celebrated NYFW. 
emmys 2022 Sept. 12, 2022
Emmys 2022: All the Red Carpet Looks  Updating: What Hollywood is wearing to the 2022 Primetime Emmy Awards. 
By Olivia Luppino
nyfw spring 2023 Sept. 9, 2022
Gigi Hadid, Chlöe Bailey, and More of the Bestest Party Pics of the Week  Saks Fifth Avenue, Longchamp, and more celebrate the beginning of NYFW. 
rip Sept. 9, 2022
The Queen Sure Did Love to Color-Coordinate  Monochrome for decades. 
red carpet Sept. 6, 2022
The Venice Film Festival Is a Major Fashion Event  Valentino and Gucci and Armani, oh my. 
red carpet June 5, 2022
All the Best Looks at the 2022 MTV Movie and TV Awards  Sydney Sweeney, Vanessa Hudgens, Jay Ellis, and more! 
parties! May 20, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Harry Styles > everyone! 
parties! May 13, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Bury me in Dove Cameron’s Saint Sintra skirt. 
parties! May 6, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Cue the Met Gala after-party FOMO. 
met gala 2022 May 2, 2022
Met Gala 2022: All the Looks [Photos]  Billie Eilish, Kim Kardashian, Michelle Yeoh, Hailey Bieber, Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, Blake Lively, and more. 
parties! Apr. 29, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  This one goes to Olivia Rodrigo and her sweater vest. 
parties! Apr. 22, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  “Fuck those Zoom tops.” 
celebrity style Apr. 18, 2022
The Best Looks From Coachella 2022  From Harry Styles’s sparkling Gucci set to Megan Thee Stallion’s metallic bodysuit. 
style Apr. 13, 2022
A Look Inside the New Museum’s Spring Gala  Featuring all the best looks. 
  • Style
  • Self
  • Culture
  • Power
  • About The Cut
  • About New York Magazine
  • Newsletters
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Press
  • Media Kit
  • We’re Hiring
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Ad Choices
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Accessibility
The Cut is a Vox Media Network. © 2023 Vox Media, LLC. All rights reserved.