Jake Gyllenhaal admits he enjoys a good sex scene
When discussing some of the best actors of contemporary cinema, names such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Tilda Swinton, Timothée Chalamet and Brad Pitt are thrown around, with Jake Gyllenhaal rarely being mentioned in the same breath. Easily one of the most underrated actors in contemporary cinema, the American actor has proved himself time and time again with such filmmakers as Dan Gilroy, Ang Lee, Denis Villeneuve, Sam Mendes, David Fincher, Duncan Jones, Bong Joon-Ho and even Michael Bay.
Bringing unrivalled energy to every role he takes up, it’s a constant joy to see Gyllenhaal in any film, often taking exciting, unique and challenging supporting roles. He demonstrated this perfectly in 2017 with the release of Okja, where he starred as an eccentric wildlife presenter in Bong Joon-Ho’s modern environmental protest piece. Similarly, he also lit up the screen in the Marvel movie Spider-Man: Far From Home as the eccentric villain Mysterio.
One of his very greatest performances came in the 2005 movie Brokeback Mountain, directed by the Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee, in which Gyllenhaal was awarded an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Appearing alongside the late Heath Ledger, Gyllenhaal played a shepherd who grew fond of his fellow work friend Ennis, with the two engaging in a homosexual relationship away from their suspicious girlfriends.
A landmark LGBT movie, Brokeback Mountain helped elevate Gyllenhaal’s career, with the actor later being awarded challenging roles in David Fincher’s Zodiac, Denis Villeneuve’s Enemy and Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler.
One prominent feature of his Brokeback Mountain performance was the demand on his character to take part in passionate sex scenes, a challenge that Gyllenhaal had little problem taking on. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in 2010, the actor revealed his professional approach to such scenes, explaining, “There’s, like, this little door that you open up and you’re like, ‘You down?’, ‘Yeah, I’m down — let’s do it’”.
Continuing, he adds, “And the door closes when the scene ends. Yeah, it’s sexy when we’re doing it. And then it stops”. Whilst he doesn’t comment on how he approached the sex scenes in Brokeback Mountain, in the same interview, he discusses Love and Other Drugs and his intimacy approach with co-star Anne Hathaway, stating, “I’ve always felt, particularly with women, it’s good to have a dance, like choreography”.
Gyllenhaal helped to elevate the Michael Bay action movie Ambulance in 2022, and will undoubtedly shine in an ensemble cast in Guy Ritchie’s forthcoming flick The Covenant, co-starring Emily Beecham, Antony Starr, Alexander Ludwig, Bobby Schofield and Jason Wong. Also in the pipeline is a remake of the 1989 movie Road House, with the new film being directed by Doug Liman with a cast that includes Gyllenhaal alongside Billy Magnussen and Daniela Melchior.
For now, revisit one of Gyllenhaal’s most celebrated roles in a clip from 2005s Brokeback Mountain below.
