Would Jake Gyllenhaal Play Gay in ‘Brokeback Mountain’ Now?

In a new interview with Howard Stern, actor Jake Gyllenhaal opened up about his experience on Brokeback Mountain and shared his thoughts on if the movie could be made now with two straight actors playing gay characters.

"Probably the answer is no," reflected Gyllenhaal, "but when I look at it now as a way in which it paved an opportunity in a time when there was no real chance... first of all, that two straight actors are going to play roles like that openly. The amount of flack we got for that was crazy. For a year after that, the amount of conversations about what my sexuality was, I was like alright guys, and girls.. chill out."

Stern also asks if people around him advised him not to take the role. 

"Early on, there were people going, 'what are you doing?'"

Luckily for all of us, Gyllenhaal brushed those comments off. "What am I doing? This is the most beautiful story I've ever read. With Ang Lee? One of the best..."

In his head, queer relationships were normal, which he credits to being around LGBTQ+ family members in his upbringing.  

"I grew up with my godfathers [who] were a gay couple. Maybe I grew up in a space where I took that for granted."

Back in 2005, Gyllenhaal didn't understand why people freaked out about the now Oscar-nominated role. "For me, it was like, what is everyone saying? What is this about? I didn't get the full response. People joking about it, people being offended by it."

But now, he seems to recognize the moment as groundbreaking. "I realized the power of movie-making. That's what I realized. It has a power."

Gyllenhaal also reflected on his relationship with co-star Heath Ledger before his passing. 

Watch the interview below: