Editorials > Jake Gyllenhaal to Play Joe Namath

Jake Gyllenhaal, an actor best known for playing introverted young adults and gay cowboys, has been tapped to play "Broadway Joe" Namath, one of the NFL's first players to achieve what can best be described as "Rock Star Status." According to Variety, David Hollander has been contracted to write the screenplay once the strike has subsided, and Andrew Lazar of Mad Chance will produce. Says Variety, "The pic will tell the story of how the golden-armed kid from Beaver Falls, Pa., became Broadway Joe, the New York Jets quarterback who became a '60s cultural figure."

Namath and Jimmy Walsh, the head of Namanco Prods., apparently okayed the project after a long pursuit on the part of Lazar, a good feeling about Hollander, and upon hearing that "the athletic" Gyllenhaal would be taking the role. I'm sure JG's in decent shape, and I make no arguments about his acting ability, but he certainly isn't built like a football player the way Mark Wahlberg was in Invincible (imperfect though that movie as a whole may have been). Is there any other actor that comes to mind as a a better fit?

-David Morgan