Maggie Gyllenhaal names the most “treasured performance that I’ve ever seen”
It would have been unusual if Maggie Gyllenhaal hadn’t entered the film industry in some way or another; after all, her whole family work in Hollywood. It was her connections to this star-studded world that gave the actor her first role, appearing in her father Stephen Gyllenhaal’s film Waterland in 1992.
It wasn’t until the early 2000s that Gyllenhaal began acting more frequently, appearing alongside her brother Jake in the 2001 thriller Donnie Darko. This wasn’t the first time they’d appeared on screen together – they previously both starred in their father’s film A Dangerous Woman – but her performance as Jake’s on-screen sister, Elizabeth, was a turning point in her growing career.
Gyllenhaal’s acting choices have seen her take on a wide variety of roles, such as an attorney’s assistant with a penchant for BDSM in Secretary, Bruce Wayne’s romantic interest Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight, and a burnt-out mother in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang. Whatever the role, Gyllenhaal gives her all, and as a result, she has earned several prestigious awards, as well as an Academy Award nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actress’.
She has since also been nominated for ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’ after writing and directing her debut feature, The Lost Daughter, which received critical acclaim. Yet, she remains best known as an actor, perfecting her skills by taking inspiration from acting legends who came before her.
One of Gyllenhaal’s biggest sources of inspiration is the movie Silkwood by Mike Nichols, which was a box office hit. The film stars Meryl Streep in one of her earlier roles, although it followed a string of successes for the Hollywood icon, such as 1979’s Kramer vs. Kramer and 1982’s Sophie’s Choice. Gyllenhaal always returns to the film, telling A.frame, “I watch Silkwood often. As an actress, I watch it for inspiration.”
She even went as far as to say, “It’s a great movie, and Meryl Streep’s is one of my most treasured performances that I’ve ever seen.” Unsurprisingly, Silkwood earned Streep yet another Oscar nomination, cementing her even further as acting royalty. Gyllenhaal was once lucky enough to work with Streep in 2002, appearing alongside her in Spike Jonze’s Adaptation, which gave Streep yet another Oscar nomination.
Gyllenhaal has also achieved her dream of working with Nichols, revealing, “Silkwood is a movie where I can tell that Mike Nichols loves his actors and that he takes care of them. I worked with Mike Nichols once — not on a film but on this performed reading of a play — and I played Marie Curie. He gave me one note the whole time, which was ‘She’s feral.’”
Evidently, Nichols’ directorial style proved to be the perfect match for Streep, resulting in a stellar performance that has influenced many actors – like Gyllenhaal – to become as good as they can possibly be.
