Jake Gyllenhaal and the late Heath Ledger starred in the film Brokeback Mountain.
Jake Gyllenhaal and the late Heath Ledger starred in the film Brokeback Mountain.
Late actor Heath Ledger based his famous role as a gay cowboy in Brokeback Mountain on his "homophobic gay" uncle, according to the film's director Ang Lee.
As the Oscar-winning film reaches its tenth anniversary, Lee and the film's producer, James Schamus, have reminisced about the casting and the making of the film.
Lee has told Variety.com that Ledger looked to his family for inspiration for his gay character Ennis Del Mar.
"Heath came in and wanted to do it right away. I think he told me that he learned from one of his uncles, who is also a very macho, homophobic gay, much like Ennis, and also a rancher," Lee told Variety.
Late Australian actor Heath Ledger in a scene from Brokeback Mountain.
When Schamus met Ledger, he was a little awestruck and tried to act out a scene from the upcoming film.
"I remember when I met Heath. He came to my apartment, in Columbia University housing. He arrived at my front door, and we'd been joking around about the tent scene where he spits in his hand. I pretended to spit in my hand before I shook his hand, and said, 'Come on in, man. We're doing this'. I was such a fan already," he said.
The film is based on a short story written by Annie Proulx, which Schamus said he had been trying to get made for about six years.
Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger in a scene from Brokeback Mountain.
Lee said he was affected by the story from the first time he read it.
"I cried at the end of reading the short story, and I couldn't figure out why I was so moved. The language was unfamiliar to me. Actually, nothing was familiar to me. But the idea of a mysterious romance up on Brokeback Mountain - one that once you leave, you are always pursuing and can never get back - always haunted me," he siad.
"There was a moment in the story where Jake says, 'All we got is Brokeback Mountain.' That really hit me and touched my heart. I felt compelled to make the movie because of that mystery."
Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger in a scene from Brokeback Mountain.
Ledger was joined onscreen by Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway for the film.
Williams and Hathaway beat about 20 or 30 actresses for the roles which was particularly impressive for Hathaway, who auditioned for the part while still in costume for another role.
"Then Anne came in, wearing heavy makeup and dressed as a princess, because she was shooting a parade scene for The Princess Diaries 2 on the Universal lot. She used her lunch hour to audition for the part," Lee said.
