Certain movies change the course of history. Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger’s Brokeback Mountain would always be counted in the list of one of the greatest movies ever made on a sensitive topic like homophobia. The Ang Lee-directed movie was a huge critical success around the world.
Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger

Brokeback Mountain went on to win multiple nominations and secured three Academy Awards under its name. The neo-western romantic drama, even created history by making Ang Lee the first Asian director to win the Academy Award for Best Director. However, Jake Gyllenhaal was not the first choice for Jake Twist’s character in Brokeback Mountain. The Planet Of The Apes actor Mark Wahlberg was first choice of Ang Lee.

Why Did Mark Walhberg Turn Down Jake Gyllenhaal Starrer Brokeback Mountain?

Sometimes actors regret turning down a role and this is what happened with Mark Wahlberg when he was offered Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain. The movie dealt with the subject of Homophobia as two shepherds become romantically involved with each other and have a tough time after they are married to their respective girlfriends. Before zeroing in on the legendary actors Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Wahlberg was supposed to play the character of Jake Twist.

During an interview with the media outlet Access Hollywood, The Departed actor revealed-

“I met with Ang Lee on that movie, I read 15 pages of the script and got a little creeped out. It was very graphic, descriptive — the spitting on the hand, getting ready to do the thing. I told Ang Lee, ‘I like you, you’re a talented guy if you want to talk about it more. Thankfully, he didn’t. I didn’t rush to see Brokeback, it’s just not my deal. Obviously, it was done in taste — look how it was received.”

Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger in Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain
During an interview with the media outlet Out, Jake Gyllenhaal spoke about his character and mentioned how his family influence helped him get into the skin of the character of Jake Twist. He said-

“I knew it would be a difficult film to make and something that would put people off, but I didn’t know how difficult it would be to get made. My closest family members, my godfathers, were a gay couple, so it was something I just inherently had no prejudice about.”
Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal were critically acclaimed for their performance in the Ang Lee-directed movie.

Jake Gyllenhaal On Playing The Role Of Jack Twist In Brokeback Mountain

During an interview with The Sunday Times, The Day After Tomorrow actor Jake Gyllenhaal reflected back on one of the best performances of his acting career. He even spoke about the difficulties of playing a gay character
“Part of the medicine of storytelling is that we were two straight guys playing these parts. “There was a stigma about playing a part like that, you know, why would you do that? And I think it was very important to both of us to break that stigma.”
Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger
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He further continued as-
“But then again, I think that has led the way towards people saying, you know, people of all different experiences should be playing more roles, that it shouldn’t be limited to a small group of people. And I believe that.”
“He was extraordinarily serious about the political issues surrounding the movie when it came out. A lot of times people would want to have fun and joke about it, and he was vehement about being serious, to the point where he didn’t really want to hear about anything that was being made fun of.”
Brokeback Mountain is currently available on Netflix.