8 Times Jake Gyllenhaal Fought His Own Hotness (And Won)

By Brydie Lee Kennedy /

7. Bubble Boy (2001)

One could forgive this initial misstep if one were generous. €œIt was his first adult role€, one would think. €œPerhaps he€™s not even aware of his hotness yet. Maybe he€™ll course-correct and do, say, a superhero movie next. With a lot of shirtlessness€. But one would be let down. (Sorry, one)

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Instead, he starred in this...romantic (?) comedy (?) as a boy. In a bubble. A Bubble Boy, if you will. He had an allergy to everything and his mum was over-protective, but she couldn€™t protect him from the greatest danger of all - love (just kidding, we all know the greatest danger of all is sharks and I€™d wager his bubble couldn€™t protect him from those, either).

His relationship with Marley Shelton in the movie is incredibly creepy as he€™s functionally kind of a child but I think we€™re supposed to root for it, so this is technically a romantic leading man role. But that is a very technical technically.

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Jake€™s wardrobe in Bubble Boy is almost forgivable, in a sort of proto-hipster way. Can€™t go wrong with stripes, even if they are covered in plastic for most of the movie. But I have received neither an explanation nor an apology for that hair and I think I am owed one. We all are.