Thanks to his roles in two Oscar-friendly films, JAKE GYLLENHAAL is being touted by many as the face of 2006. But is he more than just another boy brand? Kaleem Aftab went to meet him and find out.
ake (iyllenhaal walks into a London hotel
room wearing a black poloneck over his
blue jeans. Sporting one of those annoying designer stubble concoctions that takes longer than is really necessary in front of the mirror to get just right. he looks more like a geeky college kid than a Hollywood star.
There are not many people out there today who can say they were born to be a cowboy. (iyllenhaal qualifies for this elite band of riders both because of his noble Swedish and Russian- Jewish descent and his mesmerising
performance as Jack Twist in Ang Lee‘s ()scar
frontrunner Brukt’lnlt'k Mountain. The movie won the Golden Lion at Venice and has been racking up the honours ever since. It‘s based on Annie I’roulx‘s novella about two gay cowboys who meet while working as ranch hands before spending the rest of their lives slipping away from their wives to have scenic romps.
When describing his performance. (iyllenhaal plays down the more homoerotic elements of the script and says rather elusively: ‘I think there are people who are living lives that are secret and people who have lived their life that way.’ He's as imponderable when talking about director Lee. ‘Ang is. in my opinion. a real auteur and I really hate to use that word but it seems to be the most appropriate word to use. His silence is what makes that the only possible word to use because communication is on a different level with Ang: it's not through talking.‘
(iyllenhaal seems to enjoy talking in cryptic clues reminiscent of the l)onnit' Dar/m character that threw him into the international spotlight. aged 2 l.
Durko attracted a legion of cult fans known as ‘(iyllenhaalicsl yet for those not enamoured by the odd charms of the lilm. the actor remained just the kid brother of svelte actress Maggie.
Until Broke/nick. the I.A-born actor had struggled to fulfil his early promise. Initially his output was limited by his decision to go to (‘olumbia University in 2000. but he dropped out
after two years. Ilis choice of roles has been unlucky: no doubt the scripts for Moonlight Mile. The Good Girl and Love/y and Amazing were all promising. but on screen they did not quite work. His step up to the action hero role in Roland Iimmerich's environmental blockbuster The Day After 'lontorron' found (iyllenhaal out of his depth. liven an appearance in what looked like a surefire hit in John Madden‘s I’I'oofcztttie a cropper. The movie. which sat on the Miramax shelf for a year before being released to no fanfare in the States. will get a UK release in February. It‘s a strategy that no doubt relies on (iyllenhaal being in the running for an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor.
In the past few years the actor has been getting
tnore column inches as the on/off beau of
Kirsten Dunst. They almost worked together when he was called in as a potential replacement for Tobey Maguire when the Spiller-Mun actor was haggling over his contract. Jake had already started training for the role when Maguire signed on again. His relationship with I)unst had a rather high profile end with rumours circulating (heartily denied by the actress) that she was doing the dirty on him with Orlando Bloom on the set of Iz'lizuln't/ttown.
You wait ages for (iyllenhaal to finally do a movie in which he shows off his obvious talent and. like those buses. two come along at once. Following close on the spurs of Brukl’hllt'k is Sam Mendes. adaptation of Anthony Swofford‘s
memoirs on his experiences in the l‘)‘)l (lulf
War. .lllI'/I(’(l(/. Although the movie chooses not to attack the indoctrination of US citizens into the army with quite the same vigour as the book. (iyllenhaal gives Swoff (as Swofford was nicknamed) an extra ethereal dimension.
While discussing .llll'/I(’(l(l. (iyllenhaal changes tack and starts using slightly more throwaway.
jovial lines. He lobbied hard for the role and
says: ‘I always do that. I like to pretend like I'm interested in the part and sometimes you fool people and sometimes you don't.~ In fact it turns
out that he‘s funnier when he lets the joke come out naturally. He adds: ‘I read the book and fell in love with it. When I heard that Sam was directing it I thought there was absolutely no way I‘m ever going to get that part. Then. strangely enough. serendipitously. Sam wanted to meet me in a diner in New York and he handed me the script and said. "I‘m not offering you the pan but I want to know what you think of it." I read it. and I told him I loved the pan and wanted to do it. Then he said. [(iyllenhaal is now laughing like a pantomime villain] “Of course you do." And then began our sado—masochistic relationship. which has still not ended.~
Despite the furore surrounding the gay sex scene in Ibo/whack. we actually see far more of (iyllenhaal’s body in ./(lI'/I(’(l(/. ()n stripping for camera. the actor says: ‘If you knew me at all you would understand that there is no preparation at all in getting me to go naked.‘ To be honest. though. there's less on show than you‘d get in your average Hollywood love scene.
Starring opposite him in Jar/wail is big sister Maggie‘s boyfriend Peter Sarsgaard. The experience of working together brought the two closer and (iyllenhaal magnanimously adds: 'He can have my sister's hand if he so wants it.‘
As for his own future. (iyllenhaal reveals that his beard has actually been grown for a role ~ a film called Zodiac. with Mark Ruffan and Robert l)owney Jr. directed by David Fincher. ‘lt‘s about the Zodiac serial killer who operated in San Francisco in the late l‘)()0s and early l‘)70s.' he says. And with that. (iyllenliaal scratches his boy beard and stares absent- mindedly into the middle distance. perhaps wondering whether it is talent or luck that has brought him to this point.
Brokeback Mountain is on general release from Fri 6 Jan. Ang Lee interview, page 39, and review, page 40. Jarhead is on general release from Fri 13 Jan. Review, page 40.
‘THERE IS NO PREPARATION AT ALL IN GETTING ME TO GO NAKED'
Gytienhaal at” m3; Swoff in Jarhead, first Gulf War (this p
Jack lhhthe Brokebac Moun'dg (opposite). A " d,
3H.
1') it) Jan 220061115 LIST 15