It was opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain that Heath Ledger gave the performance of his career.
Both actors were nominated for Academy Awards for their portrayals of two men who fall in love while working at a sheep ranch one summer and embark on a secretive affair for many years after.
The story in the movie ended tragically with the death of Gyllenhaal’s character. In real life, it was Ledger who died far too soon and Gyllenhaal talks a bit about him – for the first time since Heath’s death – in the new issue of GQ magazine.
Here is an excerpt via Towleroad:
“I don’t really like talking about it. That period of time was…it was difficult. He was very sensitive. He didn’t always have a sense of performance in his everyday life. He knew who he was. I think actors very often, they know how to present something, and that’s part of their job. I think he was just really sensitive. We often used to do a lot of things together, because people were very interested in him and I think we felt safe together. Even when we did Brokeback and stuff, it was like my work was the only thing that mattered to me. It was like I could only understand or define myself through doing that. Life, I didn’t totally understand. And I think I was afraid of life. And I had success in my work, enough success that you could keep going back there. But after that happened…I think I recognized that it was work. And I recognized that this is for real.”
