Jessica Williams is running the Road House. Although the Shrinking star ended up losing out on her Emmy nomination, Williams had a second season of the Apple TV show in store along with an unexpected role in an exciting future project.
In a new interview with PopCulture, Williams briefly touched on her “cool, badass” new role in the upcoming movie Road House with Jake Gyllenhaal, a remake of the 1989 Patrick Swayze film of the same name. “For the character, I play the owner of the roadhouse, which is really exciting,” Williams said. “It was really fun to shoot, and it’s directed by Doug Liman. Jake was really fun to work with, and he worked really hard, and I’m excited to see it.”
The Road House remake, starring Gyllenhaal, was reported to be in the works in November 2021. The full cast was announced in August 2022, including Conor McGregor, Billy Magnussen, Gbemisola Ikumelo, and Daniela Melchior. The film is rumored to follow a similar plot but with a modern spin. The movie’s production began in August 2022 in the Dominican Republic and is set to stream on Amazon Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide at release.
“I’m thrilled to put my own spin on the beloved Road House legacy. And I can’t wait to show audiences what Jake and I are going to do with this iconic role,” said director Doug Liman.
This new version of the movie stars Gyllenhaal as a former UFC fighter who picks up a job as a bouncer at a rough-and-tumble roadhouse in the Florida Keys but soon discovers that not everything in this tropical paradise is as it appears.
Besides Road House, there is another project that takes up a large portion of Williams’ free time – a new puppy to which she has devoted most of her free time. “Loving him is like a full-time job,” she said. “It’s funny to learn his personality. I’ve had him for about a month and a half. But it’s like getting used to him in the house, and he’s a really good fit for me, but I’m just trying to be a good mom for him.
“I’m a researcher, like same with CarMax. So, for months before I got him, I was researching how to be a good dog mom, like positive reinforcement training, clicker training, play dates, and just learning about him and his breed. And so I just want to try and figure out how to balance my job and having the dog.”
Williams has not only become a dog mom but has developed some new skills since the writers strike. “I’ve been learning guitar since the strike. So it’s very exciting. My dream is to do an open mic night this year and be in, like, three bands with my friends. So that’s my big goal. ”