Jake Gyllenhaal Misses Heath Ledger As A Human Being

While promoting his new movie Southpaw, actor Jake Gyllenhaal admitted he missed his Brokeback Mountain co-star Heath Ledger, who died in January, 2008, of an accidental drug overdose. Gyllenhaal’s recent revelation occurred during an interview with Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air, and it was clear the actor was getting choked up as he spoke of his late friend.

“He was incredibly special,” he said. “And that doesn’t even come close to encapsulating who he is, who he was.”

Gyllenhaal was nominated for an Academy Award for his part as Jack Twist in Brokeback Mountain. He said he grew close to Ledger as a result of the family-like atmosphere of the cast and crew, as well as the attention the two got for being two straight actors playing gay men caught in a love affair. Gyllenhaal noted that the two actors were fairly close in age was something of a wake up call to Gyllenhaal when he received news that Ledger had died.

Gyllenhaal said that it was because of his close relationship with Ledger that he ended up changing how he approached his relationships with those he ended up performing with.

“I’m trying to have relationships that are as real as possibly can be on a movie set, be close to people because I know that it’s precious and I know not only can that this career end in a very short period of time,” he noted.

As for Southpaw, Gyllenhaal would not have even gotten the part were it not for Harvey Weinstein recommending him when Eminem, who was originally tapped for the part, decided he no longer wanted to act in films. Gyllenhaal was just coming off his turn as the rail-thin paparazzo in Nightcrawler and taking on the starring role in Southpaw meant he had to gain 25 pounds. He also noted that it was the role as a father figure that appealed to him in the movie.

While Gyllenhaal is gaining attention for the way he bulked up for his role in Southpaw, he said during his Fresh Air interview that he missed working with Ledger, as well as simply knowing the actor, who was likely best known for his Oscar-winning turn in The Dark Knight, in addition to his starring role in Brokeback Mountain.

“What an unfortunate thing it is that we won’t be able to see the beauty of his expression,” he said during the interview.

Southpaw opened in theaters July 24.

[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]