Jake on the cover of GQ!

[opinionista]

People online has part of Jake's interview on GQ re printed. Here's the text:


Jake: Finding a Good Woman Is Job One
THURSDAY JANUARY 25, 2007 11:10 AM EST

By Tim Nudd

Now that big sister Maggie is a mom, Jake Gyllenhaal admits he's been thinking about when he might have kids himself. But first things first – he'll need to find the right woman.

"I'm definitely thinking about (children)," the 26-year-old actor tells GQ in its February issue. But the first responsibility for any man who wants to be a father, he says, is to choose wisely when it comes to a partner.

"Look," says Gyllenhaal, who is single, "the most important job for a man is to find the right woman. It's the best we can do. I thank my father for choosing my mother. She's wonderful in so many ways. And she chose well, too. I've noticed in life that the mother, first, has a primary job – and as a father, your job is to pick a caring, smart, mindful woman."

Women interested in the job should know, however, that the actor isn't just your stereotypical sensitive guy – he also has a dark side, according to Robert Downey Jr., who stars with Gyllenhaal in the upcoming David Fincher thriller Zodiac.

"You could say he's too sensitive for this industry," Downey Jr. tells GQ. "That's not even the right word. He's clear. But he's also a total badass. He and Steve McQueen would have gotten along amazingly. Guys who will do anything, anywhere."

Playing into that "badass" characterization, Gyllenhaal tells GQ that he loves cooking, going to the farmers' market and "sometimes what I actually love to do is go to a farm and get fresh milk or watch a pig get slaughtered."

Gyllenhaal's most high-profile relationship to date was his lengthy on-again, off-again relationship with Kirsten Dunst.

Asked about his close friendship with cycling star Lance Armstrong – and rumors that they are more than just pals, Gyllenhaal laughs it off as the downside of fame.

"That is quite a rumor," Jake says. "Yeah, people who are semi-well-known can't seem to hang out without the story being that (a) one is playing the other in a movie, or (b) they're having an affair."

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20009678,00.html

I don't know about the rest of it, but from what I just read, this interview seems to be a bit silly. I've read better ones. Take for example the following quote:

Women interested in the job should know, however, that the actor isn't just your stereotypical sensitive guy – he also has a dark side, according to Robert Downey Jr., who stars with Gyllenhaal in the upcoming David Fincher thriller Zodiac.

Well, duh. So, Jake has a dark side. Who doesn't? For goodness sake!

[ednbarby]

Is it just me, or does this

Look," says Gyllenhaal, who is single, "the most important job for a man is to find the right woman. It's the best we can do. I thank my father for choosing my mother. She's wonderful in so many ways. And she chose well, too. I've noticed in life that the mother, first, has a primary job – and as a father, your job is to pick a caring, smart, mindful woman."

sound kinda... provincial?  (You're not turning into a - gasp - Republican on me, are ya, Jake?)

I realize he's complimenting the mother's role in raising the child, but he's kind of underestimating the father's.  Isn't he?

~ Barb, from her "Probably Reading Too Much Into It Again" LP

[Brokeback_Dev]

personally, i dont have a problem with how jake feels about finding a good woman to be his wife, and a good mother to his children.   and its just important that a woman finds a man who is going to be a good man; gentle and kind and suited to be a good father. 
thats what i did in my own personal experience especially because i already had a child before i got married to my husband.  Today in this crazy world a person really has to be very careful.

[ednbarby]

I hear ya, Dev.  It's just that there is so much more to long-term, committed relationships than finding someone you think will be the best parent to your children.  Of course that is important, and one should take that into serious consideration if one wants children and is looking for a life partner to raise them with.  But there are other equally important considerations.  I know because I thought I chose a man who would be a wonderful father first and foremost - I thought that that was the most important thing.  Especially since my own father had pretty much sucked eggs for most of my formative years.  And my husband is indeed better than most.  But he is not my, for lack of a better word, soul mate.  He doesn't begin to understand or fully appreciate me and never has.  I thought I could do without my partner being madly in love with me for the greater good - of being in a steady, calm relationship and being with someone who would be a good father.  I forgot to consider that it would also be advantageous to find someone who brought out the best in me and fully supported me when I wasn't at my best.

I guess I'm transferring my own baggage onto poor Jake.  He's just a kid, really, who's got his whole life ahead of him to hopefully avoid making the same mistake I made.

[Brokeback_Dev]

Barb unfortunately i have to admit my husband is not my soul mate either.  Now that my daughter is grown and on her own i question myself whether or not i want to stay in this marriage...we've had a really rough past few years and some of it had to do with my daughter...her teenage angst was almost unbearable.   I wont get into that too much, but my  husband had a very difficult time accepting the fact that she is a lesbian....born a lesbian and i support her..it took a long time for him to come around, but eventually he has.  So are you unhappy?  lately most of the time i am.  So i have to say I know what you are talking about and you arent alone and neither am i.

[ednbarby]

Aw, honey.  I hear you on all of this.  I'm about to write you a PM.