Heath Ledger by Brian J. Robb

Author:Brian J. Robb [Brian J. Robb]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780859657051
Publisher: Plexus Publishing Ltd.
Published: 2019-03-08T16:00:00+00:00

The prejudice against gay roles in American movies was still evident when it came to casting. Despite Tom Hanks and Antonio Banderas starring in 1993’s Philadelphia, gay characters were still associated with minor character actors, and often with the subject of AIDS. It didn’t help when, early in his career, Will Smith refused to kiss another man on screen in Six Degrees of Separation. (It was a stance the actor would later regret.) As a result of this general atmosphere, casting two young actors in the central roles of Brokeback Mountain proved to be a major challenge.

‘As powerful as the story and script were,’ noted Ossana, ‘with good parts for actors, I knew that it would take actors who were smart and brave to commit to this and go places emotionally that they’d never gone before, and who would be willing to make this challenging movie on a modest budget.’

With Lee on board as director, the project received a fresh impetus. ‘I decided to take a risk and go with a younger cast,’ said Lee of his approach to the material. ‘It’s a twenty-year story, and you cannot recreate youth easily. I decided to go with [actors in their] younger twenties. The young have innocence and freshness, and believe in what they’re doing. They make the effort, and you don’t over-instruct them. Nothing’s more rewarding for a filmmaker than when young actors listen and [then] come [up] with great results.’

But which young actors would take on the roles? Who would be willing to put their reputation on the line, yet would still be enough of a draw to make the movie a success with a mainstream audience? First to sign on was Jake Gyllenhaal. ‘I was immediately drawn to Brokeback Mountain because love stories haven’t been told this way,’ Gyllenhaal recalled. ‘Movies avoided the struggles and the trials that it takes to actually be in love. When I heard that Ang Lee was going to make it, I thought, “I have to do this movie.”’

The main characters are ranch-hand Ennis Del Mar and rodeo cowboy Jack Twist, who meet on Brokeback Mountain and unexpectedly fall in love. The film charts the pair’s struggle to deal with their feelings, their families and the social attitudes of the time, while furtively indulging their forbidden passion on infrequent ‘fishing trips’. The production had found their Jack, but filling the cowboy boots of Ennis was a whole other problem. The role, as written, had very specific requirements. ‘“Ennis” means “island,”’ explained co-star Anne Hathaway. ‘Ennis is a man unto himself, and he keeps to himself the most of anybody in Brokeback Mountain – and affects people. He can’t access his emotions and be with the person he loves most in the entire world.’

‘If you just be safe about the choices you make, you don’t grow.’ – Heath Ledger

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