AUSTIN, Texas – The action movie Road House stars a chiselled Jake Gyllenhaal as a former mixed-martial arts (MMA) fighter who gets more than he bargains for working as a bouncer.

And a year after the American actor’s ripped physique for the film went viral, it is finally available on Prime Video.

Co-starring Irish MMA champion Conor McGregor as the antagonist and American singer Post Malone in a cameo, the movie is a reimagining of the cult 1989 film of the same name starring the late Patrick Swayze, known for its over-the-top action and cheesy one-liners.

In March 2023, a video from the set showed Gyllenhaal looking every bit the fighter as he knocked out an opponent in a fight scene.

But at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas, earlier in March, moviegoers finally got a proper look at the Hollywood star’s impressive skills and physique, the result of months of rigorous MMA training.

Asked how he achieved this, the 43-year-old – who was Oscar-nominated for playing a closeted cowboy in romantic drama Brokeback Mountain (2005) – gestures towards the audience and says: “I had a great team of people helping me and some of them are here tonight.”

Gyllenhaal is no stranger to undertaking drastic physical transformations for acting roles.

To play a boxer in the sports drama Southpaw (2015), he gained a muscular 28kg and took punches to the face.

And it was his idea to shed 13kg so his crime reporter character in the thriller Nightcrawler (2014) would look gaunt.

“I love to get in shape,” says Gyllenhaal, who also won acclaim for his role in the thriller Prisoners (2013). “And when you know you’re going to be up against somebody like Conor McGregor, you have to have something.”

Playing a key antagonist in the film, McGregor, 35, is a global superstar in the world of combat sports and one of the biggest names in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the premier organisation for MMA competition.

Gyllenhaal’s character, Dalton, is a one-time UFC champ who left the sport in disgrace and is down on his luck.

He dusts off his fighting skills when the owner of a bar in Florida hires him to deal with local troublemakers.

Dalton dispatches most of them easily, but then a crime boss sends a man named Knox (McGregor) to take Dalton down.

Gyllenhaal admits it was intimidating knowing he would have to go toe to toe with one of the world’s top fighters, even if it was only make-believe.

Like director Doug Liman – the American film-maker behind action hits such as The Bourne Identity (2002) and Edge Of Tomorrow (2014) – the star was desperate for McGregor to say yes to the role.

“Then when we got the call that he was doing it, it was like that feeling when you buy the house you always wanted, and you’re, like, ‘What the **** did I just do?’” Gyllenhaal says.

“It was the most incredible feeling, and then it was like I wanted to run as far as I could.”

But McGregor, who was acting for the first time, was also outside his comfort zone.

“It’s very hard work for sure,” says the fighter, who is known for his striking ability as well as his outspoken, trash-talking personality.

“And when I saw all the characters come to life on screen, I thought to myself, ‘I’m going to **** this up and ruin it.’ Because I’m no actor.

“But what I do know is I have a lot more to give. So let’s see what happens.”

Also stepping outside his wheelhouse for Road House was 28-year-old Post Malone, the man behind chart-topping singles such as Rockstar (2017) and Sunflower (2018).

The music star, whose real name is Austin Post, is complimented on stage at the premiere for his cameo as a fighter.

“Thank you very much. I don’t know what I’m doing. There’s no Auto-Tune for acting,” he quips.

“And it is a lot of hard work. But I just had so much fun.”

• Road House is available on Prime Video.