In honour of its 20th anniversary, Jake Gyllenhaal has reflected on a “profound” moment with a fan of Brokeback Mountain.
Directed by Ang Lee, the iconic gay drama follows Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Gyllenhaal), two star-crossed cowboys navigating a forbidden romance in the American West during the 1960s.
Widely hailed as a turning point for LGBTQIA+ representation in mainstream media, Brokeback Mountain won three Academy Awards — including Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay — and earned acting nominations for Ledger, Gyllenhaal, and Michelle Williams.
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair marking the film’s 20th anniversary, Gyllenhaal recalled “a moment that I go back to a lot” with a particularly devoted fan.
“Heath and I were at a Q&A at the Aero Theatre in Los Angeles,” he said. “I remember us going to dinner while the movie was screening, and we were just joking backstage. I remember us coming onstage in a humorous mood, because we were having fun with each other.
“We sat down, the lights came up, and a man stood up – the movie had been out for a week and a half – and said, ‘I just want to say, this is my eleventh time seeing this movie. I can’t stop watching it, and I just want to thank you all for making it.’
“I thought, ‘Eleven times in ten days?’ I remember that washing over us. The profound realisation of the profundity of this thing. It happens constantly, to this day.”
Gyllenhaal continued to say that he “can’t express how proud” he is of Brokeback Mountain.
The actor has frequently spoken about his love for the film, its powerful themes, and his experience working with the late Heath Ledger.
In a 2019 interview with Sunday Times, Gyllenhaal revealed that Ledger “would never joke” about the movie, and would “often shut down those who would”: “Someone wanted to make a joke about the story or whatever, he was like, ‘No. This is about love. Like, that’s it, man. Like, no.’”
Three years later, he expanded on his comments in an interview with Vanity Fair, saying: “The relationship between Heath and me while making this movie was based on a profound love for many people we knew and were raised by. A deep respect for their love and their relationships.”
“There were many jokes being made about the movie, or poking fun at, things like that,” Gyllenhaal explained. “And [Ledger’s] consummate devotion to how serious and important the relationship between these two characters was—it showed me how devoted he was as an actor and how devoted we both were to the story and the movie.”
At the time of its release, Brokeback Mountain was reductively dubbed a “gay cowboy movie” and frequently parodied for its subject matter.
Infamously, the film lost the coveted Best Picture award to Paul Haggis’ critically divisive Crash — a decision still regarded as one of the Academy’s most controversial. As Williams recently remarked on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, “I mean… What was Crash?”
In the years since, however, Brokeback Mountain has continued to garner critical acclaim and is frequently ranked among the greatest LGBTQIA+ films of all time.
To mark its 20th anniversary, Brokeback Mountain is being shown in cinemas across the U.S. on 22 and 25 June, accompanied by an all-new poster, upcoming merchandise and other commemorative initiatives.
Watch the 20th anniversary trailer below.
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