PARIS — Jake Gyllenhaal grew up sailing, but a Sunfish doesn’t compare to the Luna Rossa, Prada’s boat.
“This is like getting on a space ship,” said the actor, who will appear in a three-part documentary campaign, called “Beyond the Line, directed by Nicolas Davenel and Vanessa Dumont, involving Gyllenhaal’s embed in the Luna Rossa sailing team. It is set to break on April 10.
He became the face of Prada Luna Rossa Ocean men’s scent — the first to be produced for the Italian luxury brand under L’Oréal license — in summer 2021. Now, Gyllenhaal is also fronting the more intense version, called Luna Rossa Ocean Le Parfum, a fougère ambery fragrance by IFF perfumers Anne Flipo and Carlos Benaïm.
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For the filming, Gyllenhaal learned all about the boat from people who sail and design it. He also met the team and its captain Max Sirena.
At the outset, Gyllenhaal was told: “You will be the eyes and ears of most of us in the world trying to figure out the magnificent way in which these people have designed this boat, then you’re going to get on the boat. And at the very end, we’re going to give you the controls, and hopefully you’ll do a good job,” he said. “Just keep it in a straight line.”
As Gyllenhaal put on sailing gear, Sirena counselled he’d need to take a big gulp of oxygen if ever the boat capsized.
“They’re sailing at the edge of what anything can do technologically,” Gyllenhaal said. “They’re pushing the limits.”
Gyllenhaal spent a lot of time sailing with his uncle growing up. Still, he said he “was surprised they would entrust me with the Luna Rossa, even for three-and-a-half minutes.”
The actor, who appears in the newly released film “Road House,” is always active, so no physical training was necessary for the shoot. He was amazed by how the Luna Rossa is power-boated by bikes under the boat.
“I tried to do five sets of what they normally do over a race, like 30 sets of these intervals,” Gyllenhaal said. “Or they do 30-second bursts of energy of over 1,000 watts. I was gassed by five. That just made me totally in awe of the fact that these athletes are pushing the physical limit, not only the speed of the boat, but also under this boat. It’s requiring them to dig so, so deep.”
Gyllenhaal has many memories of the making-of. “There was a really beautiful moment, when we were pulling out, being towed in the boat, and we were being followed by four dolphins,” he said. “The circular tube that the rudder makes is something that the dolphins tend to play with.”
On the Luna Rossa, Gyllenhaal said: “It feels like you’re flying. Harnessing the wind, as old as that notion is, is faster than anything.”
His role in the documentary came naturally. “I do love the technical, and I do so deeply love the artistry of what it is that I do. I’m always trying to challenge myself, stay curious, keep variety and change different worlds,” Gyllenhaal said. “That matches with what Mrs. Prada and Raf [Simons] are doing, and what Mrs. Prada has done for so many years with Prada.”
Acting-wise, he will be in “Othello” on Broadway with Denzel Washington next year, and has an Apple TV+ series, “Presumed Innocent,” and a Guy Ritchie movie coming up.
“A lot of things I’m excited to bring out into the world,” Gyllenhaal said.
Prada has been equally busy. “The brand is rolling out on the beauty side and is consolidating very strongly on the fragrance side,” said Yann Andrea, international general manager of Prada Beauty.
In Europe and North America combined in 2023, Prada ranked number 15 among selective fragrances — growing almost four-times faster than that market. Paradoxe came in 12th, while Luna Rossa placed 11th, outpacing the market threefold.
The launch of Ocean was key for Luna Rossa.
“It enabled [us] to re-dynamize the whole franchise,” said Andrea, adding the new scent and campaign “are going back to the franchise’s roots, which are deeply embedded in the world of sailing and high performance. It’s really an adventure.”
