Jake Gyllenhaal RECALLS his ‘profound’ relationship with Heath Ledger

Jake Gyllenhaal is opening up about his time with the legend Heath Ledger on their 2005 release Brokeback Mountain. Directed by Ang Lee, the neo-western romantic drama cast Ledger alongside Gyllenhaal as two cowboys who romance each other in the mountains of Wyoming. Though the film was a commercial success, it also garnered negative press and criticism from the conservatives for its LGBTQ subject matter.

In a recent sit down with Vanity Fair, via Screenrant, Gyllenhaal shared that he and Ledger developed a significant relationship through the filming of the movie and explained that their relationship was “based on a profound love for a lot of people that we knew and were raised by in our lives. A deep respect for their love and their relationship.” He then noted that Ledger’s “consummate devotion” to the love of the two characters showed Gyllenhaal how serious he was about the role as well as about being an actor.

Gyllenhaal continued that Ledger’s devotion also made him realise how devoted both of them were to these characters and their stories while the film was shrouded in controversy and was the bud of many jokes at the time yet now it remains a significant landmark of LGBTQ cinema. Gyllenhaal went on to mention that his time working on the project with Ledger was a “really deep and fun one.” 

Interestingly, Gyllenhaal recounted that the film took them three weeks to make which also consisted of the two “making everyone coffee and then eating a little breakfast and then walking to work.” Gyllenhaal remarked that he wished to use this technique of movie-making more, “where we all just powwowed and lived together in the space.”

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