Smash hit

Unusually for a young actor, he’s prepared to trust his instincts. He was confident enough to turn down a role in Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Dreamers, in which three students in Paris in 1968 play a series of sexual games with each other. “It wasn’t the nudity. It was because I wanted there to be an overall reason for the nudity, and I didn’t feel there was one. I discussed it with Bernardo, and I felt that sexuality was the subject to be observed, rather than there being a reason for the sexuality.”

So, rather than romp in the buff with the luscious Eva Green in The Dreamers, Gyllenhaal will instead get naked with Heath Ledger in next year’s Brokeback Mountain. Directed by Ang Lee and based on a short story by the Pulitzer prizewinner E Annie Proulx, it’s the tale of two gay cowboys in 1960s Wyoming. And it’s a brave choice, because Hollywood still has problems with actors who have sex with other men, even if it’s only on film. “People can make assumptions, but that won’t stop me from wanting to sleep with women,” smiles Gyllenhaal.

“Again, it’s the story,” he continues.

“People say things like ‘Love is universal’ and ‘Love has no boundaries’ over and over again, yet most movies about love deal with heterosexual relationships, and it’s just the same old shit over and over again. We get given the wrong message: that love is always there, and it’s not hard, and you don’t need to work at it. I don’t think that’s correct. From the little I know, it’s hard to be in a relationship and in love. It’s a lot of work.”

He and Dunst have particular problems, in that they are often working in different places. “It is hard, but we find ways to see each other almost all the time. We make enough money that we can travel and visit each other. If you really want to make something work, you do.” So, Gyllenhaal joined Dunst in her Bayswater flat while she was shooting the film Wimbledon. Having also made the forthcoming Proof, with Gwyneth Paltrow, in London, as well as appearing in This Is Our Youth, he ’s almost an honorary cockney. “It’s a wonderful place, but when you’re on your own, it can get a little lonely.”

There will be more stage work. He is intrigued to learn about Trevor Nunn’s youthful production of Hamlet at the Old Vic. “I think Hamlet should be that old. That’s cool.” Gyllenhaal has come close to performing some Shakespeare himself. “We were discussing doing Romeo and Juliet for a while. I just thought that I didn’t want to ruin a national treasure.”

Collaborating with top-notch directors is what excites him. “The only thing calculated about my career is working with really good directors. I’ve been in movies where the script is good, but the director messed it up, and I’ve been in movies where the script isn’t perfect, but the director has pulled it off. Being with a good director is something of a sure-fire bet in what is a risky business.” Which is why he can’t wait to start shooting Brokeback Mountain with Lee. “Ang says he wants people to leave this movie with the taste of love in their mouth. If we succeed, it will be special.”

The Day After Tomorrow opens on Friday

www.jakegyllenhaal.com
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