Every Dalton Tattoo In Road House 2024, Explained

In 2024’s Road House, Jake Gyllenhaal’s character Elwood Dalton has several tattoos with different meanings. During press for the film, Gyllenhaal teased that there are Easter eggs and references in Road House, including the ink on Dalton’s body. Specifically, the actor shared that at least a couple of the tattoos he wears in the movie are a tribute to late star Patrick Swayze, who led the original 1989 Road House film.

Gyllenhaal and Swayze met on the set of the 2001 psychological thriller Donnie Darko. Richard Kelly’s film features Swayze and Gyllenhaal’s characters as nemesis of sorts, but off-screen, the two were friends, according to Gyllenhaal. Gyllenhaal chose to keep which tattoos connect to Swayze a secret since they are meant to be Easter eggs for Road House audiences. The references to Swayze are a personal touch to honor the actor, who died in 2009 from pancreatic cancer at the age of 57. Gyllenhall called the tattoos “a little ode to him.”

In addition to the tattoos carrying real-life meaning, some of the character’s ink highlights Dalton’s backstory in Road House as well as his mindset as a fighter. While the symbolism is fairly clear for a couple of the tattoos, others are open to interpretation. Eagle-eyed viewers may have to pause the movie to notice Dalton’s ink, but they go a long way in fleshing out Gyllenhaal’s character and celebrating the actor’s relationship with Swayze.

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P.S. Tattoo (Right Arm)

Jake Gyllenhaal’s clearest homage to Patrick Swayze

The most pointed reference to Swayze is a small set of initials inside Dalton’s right forearm, just below his inner elbow. The tattoo, a simple P.S., is hard to spot due to its size and location as Dalton is often on the move in Road House. However, during the scene when he is getting patched up by Ellie (Daniela Melchior) in the hospital from a knife wound, the bright lights of the room help to highlight the ink.

Audiences must be quick on the pause button, though, as the tattoo is only briefly on the screen. Gyllenhaal again hinted at the tribute to Swayze in an interview with IMDb‘s Cat Quinn, saying that there is one tattoo in particular “in honor of someone, and it is there, so go search.” This is likely referring to the P.S. tattoo.

Just before the new Road House was released, Gyllenhaal remembered Swayze in an Instagram post, sharing his “respect and admiration for what [Swayze] put out and into the world.” Considering both the post and the number of times Gyllenhaal referenced Swayze in interviews leading up to the film’s release, it’s clear the two actors shared a close bond. The overt reference to Swayze through the P.S. tattoo is a sweet way to honor both the original film and the off-screen relationship that meant a lot to Gyllenhaal.

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Flower Tattoo (Right Arm)

A potential link to Wade Garrett from the original Road House

The symbol on Dalton’s inner right forearm could potentially be a flower. This tattoo has few clear glimpses throughout the movie due to its placement. The top, towards the wrist, appears to be the head of a flower. It’s attached to what looks at first to be a line with two filled-in triangles, but it could actually be the flower’s thorns on a stem. It would be a less traditional, more abstract take on a flower, but it would fit in with Dalton’s personality and his other tattoos, all of which are fairly simple in design.

The only thing viewers know about Dalton’s background is that he was a UFC fighter before a horrific tragedy occurred. This happened during a fight in which he lost control and inadvertently killed his opponent, Jax Harris (Jay Hieron). Since Harris was a friend of Dalton’s, the flower tattoo could be a memorial to him. Flowers often symbolize death and the way beauty can still be found afterward.

The pacing of the UFC fight scenes in Road House is frantic, but it’s clear that the tattoo on Dalton’s right arm doesn’t exist at that time in the story. This gives credence to the theory that Dalton got the tattoo afterward in honor of his dead friend.

Additionally, Dalton’s flower tattoo is similar to one that the character Wade Garrett (Sam Elliott) had in 1989’s Road House. Wade had a rose tattoo, with the name Rose inscribed on a ribbon across the flower. Audiences get a shot of it after Wade’s murder. Wade was Dalton’s best friend and mentor in the original Road House movie. With friends of the main character being killed in both movies, the tattoos could possibly link the two major deaths in the films that impact Dalton the most. This would serve as a neat if subtle nod to the original.

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Dragon Tattoo (Left Arm)

Another possible reference to Patrick Swayze

Dalton’s largest tattoo is the most visible throughout the film. The ink is seemingly the eyes, face, and scales of a dragon, covering most of his left forearm. Like the other tattoos, Daloton never explains its significance, but it’s possible it could also be connected to Swayze.

Over a decade after the first Road House was released, Swayze starred in two movies with “dragon” in the title. He was in the drama film Green Dragon, written and directed by Timothy Linh Bui. Swayze played Gunnery Sergeant Jim Lance in the movie, which is set during the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. It follows the story of a few Vietnamese refugees who arrive at Camp Pendleton in the U.S.

Three years later, Swayze starred in the action-adventure comedy George and the Dragon opposite James Purefoy and Piper Perabo. Swayze had a smaller and more antagonistic role in George and the Dragon than Green Dragon, where he had a much larger part. If Dalton’s dragon tattoo is a reference to either Swayze movie, it’s most likely to be Green Dragon. Still, the connection between the dragon tattoo and Swayze isn’t the strongest, meaning there could be a different explanation altogether.

Another possibility is that Dalton got the dragon tattoo when he was coming up in the MMA world and was making a name for himself in the UFC. Fighters often have a nickname, and while the movie doesn’t reveal if Dalton has one, the dragon could be related to his fighting persona and how he approaches his battles.

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Parallel Line Tattoos (Various)

Dalton has three similar parallel line tattoos

Dalton has two short, horizontal black lines running parallel on the right side of his neck in Road House. The neck tattoo is one of the few Dalton already has during his final MMA fight. However, he also has two other parallel line tattoos that he got sometime later.

Dalton has two long lines running up his left side, with the length almost making them look like claw marks. This could hint at the animalistic nature of Dalton’s fights. Additionally, he has three lines on the back of his upper right arm that point upward toward his shoulder, making them resemble arrows. The tattoos on his left side and upper right arm don’t appear in the flashback sequences, and the ink looks newer in comparison.

As with most tattoos, Dalton’s parallel lines could have many meanings, as they never cross and never end. If the lines are related to the idea of never-ending, the tattoos could be connected to something personal in Dalton’s life or how he viewed his career in the UFC. His last fight was for the middleweight championship; any professional fighter’s goal is to continue to the top and then defend their title — a metaphorical endless battle.

There has been some speculation (via New_Exercise_5458 on Reddit) that the two lines could refer to Gyllenhaal and Swayze since their characters have the same names in the Road House films. The tattoos might symbolize “two,” “double,” or “equal” regarding the two Dalton characters, but it’s hard to know for sure since this particular ink invites many interpretations.

Additionally, the equal sign appearance of the tattoo on Dalton’s neck could indicate how he feels about his opponents, seeing them as worthy equals. Since parallel lines are rooted in geometry and fairly common tattoos, they could potentially hold a less profound meaning and have been a simple design for the character.

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Two Arrows & A Circle Tattoo (Chest)

Likely Dalton’s oldest ink

Dalton has another small tattoo on the right side of his chest. This one consists of two arrows pointing toward a small circle in the center and appears to be a much older tattoo, considering how faded it is. Due to its age, this is another tattoo that could be related to Dalton’s early career in mixed martial arts. The tattoo could also be from even earlier in Dalton’s life, as it looks to be the first one he got. The design is fairly simplistic, and its potential meaning is less straightforward, similar to the parallel line tattoos.

According to Chronic Ink, tattoos with two arrows have different meanings depending on the direction they face and whether they intersect. They can generally symbolize strength or “direction in finding your way” and convey “personal achievement and the fight it takes to get there.” Any of these explanations would fit Dalton’s personality and his character’s journey in Road House either before or during the early part of his MMA career. The circle at the center could symbolize a never-ending connotation similar to the parallel lines or reflect where Dalton derives his strength.

Source: Cat Quinn/TikTok, Jake Gyllenhall/Instagram, New_Exercise_5458/Reddit, Chronic Ink