As a stage and screen actor, @jakegyllenhaal is in the business of making realities from language. For our Fall/Winter 2024–25 issue, he meets with curator @hansulrichobrist to put language into action. Gyllenhaal’s personal theories on acting are like a re-spun version of the linguistic propositions in J. L. Austin’s 1962 book ‘How to Do Things with Words.’ The British philosopher proposed that language didn’t merely communicate but enacted. A promise, a command, a warning, a declaration—such performative speech acts, Austin said, didn’t just describe the world but intervened in lived experience. Gyllenhaal, by interpreting the instructions of the script, transmutes the written word into an embodied text. “Acting is an interpretation of somebody else’s text,” he says. “So, if you’ve ever written an essay, it’s about writing an essay with your behavior.” At the link in our bio, the pair discuss the potency of the word on paper, stage, and screen. Text by @utilitiesnotincluded. Photography by @caspersejersenstudio. Editor-in-Chief and Creative Director @nickvogelson. Fashion Editor @beatbolliger. Grooming @kumicraig at @thewallgroup. Hairdresser @paintedbyangela. Set Design @gerardsantos_ at @lalalandartists. Tailor @neffnyc at @carol_ai_studio. Production Director @lisaolssonhjerpe at @chapelproductions. Post Production @shepostpro. Shot at @wsanyc. Special thanks @adrianna.varedi, @samwessner.