Maggie Gyllenhaal talks brother Jake and Heath Ledger’s ‘true friendship’
Maggie Gyllenhaal spoke of Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger’s friendship (Getty Images)
Maggie Gyllenhaal has shared insight into the “true friendship” between her brother, actor Jake Gyllenhaal, and the late Heath Ledger, who starred together in LGBTQ+ cinema classic Brokeback Mountain in 2005.
The actress discussed the matter in a poignant moment during her appearance on the The Drew Barrymore Show back in March. The show’s official TikTok account recently shared a clip of the exchange.
Both of the Gyllenhaal siblings had the pleasure of working with Ledger, with Maggie sharing the screen with him in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight in 2006. Gyllenhaal played Rachel Dawes, while Ledger starred in his Academy Award-winning role as the Joker.
Gyllenhaal and Barrymore touched on the film during their chat. “The thing about The Dark Knight is the scope was massive,” Gyllenhaal began.
“The other thing I want to say about that movie is that it’s hard to act well in a huge movie because so many other things take precedence. VFX, tonnes of extras, just the scope.
“And Heath Ledger just took the space he needed and was incredible in that movie,” she said to a round of applause from the audience.
“Everybody knew it. I remember Peter [Sarsgaard], my husband, and Michelle [Williams] and Heath, we both had babies who were about the same age, and Peter said, ‘Oh wow, Joker, that’s a big deal taking that on,’ and Heath said, ‘I have an idea.’”
Barrymore then recalled a memory in which she saw Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal out and about together in New York.
“I remember hanging out with them and being so happy to be around them, and seeing what a true friendship they really had,” Barrymore said. “It wasn’t the movie, it was like, oh, there they are.”
“You can’t make a movie like Brokeback Mountain and not make a connection,” Gyllenhaal added.
“I agree, I agree completely,” said Barrymore.
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