Jake Gyllenhaal isn't keen on social media.
In an era where social media followers are currency in Hollywood, Gyllenhaal has eschewed self-promotion via Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. While promoting Stronger on TBS' Conan Thursday, the 36-year-old actor said he's "a few steps away" from being a "Luddite."
What does that mean, exactly? "Like, I'm a drag and drop kind of guy. I don't know shortcut commands. I don't command 'whatever' to get the thing. Like, I just take my mouse and drag it over. And my friends are generally embarrassed. They're like, 'Control + V pastes it!' I'm going up to 'Edit,' then I'm going to highlight it, and then I'm going to drag it over.' Everyone's like [falling asleep]. That's the kind of guy I am," he told Conan O'Brien. "[But] I know computers!"
Because Gyllenhaal is out of the loop, he wasn't aware of the parody Twitter account @JakeActivities, which pairs photos of the actor doing mundane tasks with witty captions.
"It's called 'my life,'" Gyllenhaal joked. To get his guest up to speed, O'Brien pulled up some of his favorites shots, beginning with a photo series: "jake gyllenhaal amazed by the snow (2009)." In his own defense, Gyllenhaal joked, "Someone was sprinkling cocaine. You'd be amazed, too."
Another favorite? "jake laughing at his sandwich (2004)."
"Why is that...what?" Gyllenhaal asked. "Sandwiches are hilarious!"
O'Brien's favorite image was "jake gyllenhaal in a high school boy band called holeshot," and the actor confirmed that he was, in fact, in a teen rock group. (As Gyllenhaal once told Ellen DeGeneres, he was their lyricist—until he got kicked out for dating the drummer's girlfriend.)
Gyllenhaal couldn't help but laugh at the self-serious shoot with his Holeshot bandmates. "The guy on the left is hanging his head in shame, knowing that in 20 years he was going to be on a talk show," he told O'Brien. "The guy on the right is just afraid he's going to get hit by the title."