Jake Gyllenhaal Shares Brokeback Mountain Memories of Heath Ledger

Looking back at the film, Jake Gyllenhaal had some memories to share about his time working on Brokeback Mountain with the late Heath Ledger. Directed by Ang Lee and written by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, Brokeback Mountain was released in theaters in 2005. A complex love story between two American cowboys, the film drew widespread acclaim and earned a slew of Oscar nominations, including acting awards for Gyllenhaal and Ledger.

Gyllenhaal recently addressed his biggest career roles in a video interview for Vanity Fair. He had a lot to say about Brokeback Mountain, having nothing but the fondest of memories when looking back at the hit film. The actor recalls how much fun he had with Ledger on the set, and the approach he took to making that film with Ledger is something he now finds himself missing. Every morning, over the course of the three-week shoot, Gyllenhaal and Ledger would get up, have their breakfast, and walk to the set together.

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“You know, the relationship, I think between me and Heath while we were making this movie was something that was based on a profound love for a lot of people that we knew and were raised by in our lives and a deep respect for their love and their relationship… It’s a technique of movie-making that I wish we did more of, you know, where we all just powwowed and lived together in a space.”

Another memory Gyllenhaal holds about that film is that Ledger took it very seriously. At the time, Brokeback Mountain was the subject of a lot of jokes, but this was something Ledger refused to take part in. He took the story and the film very seriously, which for Gyllenhaal, was impressive as it was another example of the level of devotion that Ledger had put into the film, as he did with all of his roles.

“One of the things I really remember about the process after the movie came out was Heath never wanting to make a joke. Even as I think culturally, there were many jokes being made about the movie or poking fun at and things like that. And his consummate devotion to how serious and important the relationship between these two characters was. It showed me, I think, how devoted he was as an actor and how devoted he was, and we both were, to the story in the movie. And for us, the experience of the movie, I can say, was a really deep and fun one.”

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Jake Gyllenhaal Has Nothing But Praise for Brokeback Mountain

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Jake Gyllenhaal also remembers the reaction to the movie and how much it meant to a lot of viewers as well, which went beyond the actors’ performances. He’s proud of the work he had done alongside Ledger’s, but suggests that the film, along with the message it brings, now belongs to everyone else. And that’s something that makes him happy.

“There’s so much to say about this movie. There’s even more for me to say about my experience of it. There’s even more for me to say about the reaction to it and what it meant and what happens when you realize, as a performer in particular, that something has nothing to do with you… the power beyond anything that you think you have control over or part of, goes out into the world, it becomes everyone else’s. And so, you have a short time with it and that’s my job and my honor to do, and then it is everyone else’s, and it is no longer mine. And there is no film that I’ve ever done that has shown that to me more than Brokeback Mountain.”

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Jeremy Dick
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Jeremy Dick has been a writer and editor since 2014. He is a self-professed horror expert, pop culture enthusiast, and Bob Saget fanatic.

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