The role Jake Gyllenhaal almost played in ‘Zoolander’: “He came in with a whole character”
The early 2000s were a veritable golden era for comedies, with 2001 a particularly strong year for the genre, as it saw the release of Bridget Jones’s Diary, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Legally Blonde, Shrek, and many more.
There was also another comedy released that year, one that became an instant classic. A ridiculous satire of the fashion industry full of iconic poses, international treachery, and even a cameo from a future president of the United States, this was, of course, the mighty Zoolander.
The movie stars Ben Stiller (who also directed, produced, and co-wrote the project) as Derek Zooland, a male model with all the looks but none of the brains. This legend of the catwalk becomes embroiled in a plot by maniacal designer Jacobim Mugatu, played by Will Ferrell, to assassinate the prime minister of Malaysia in one of the most innovative comedies of the era.
Alongside Stiller and Ferrell, the film also stars Owen Wilson as Derek’s primary rival, Hansel McDonald. Over the course of the movie, the pair engage in a gripping ‘walk-off’, overseen by none other than David Bowie, argue over their respective styles, and eventually work together to foil the evil plot. Stiller and Wilson make for a great time pair, but the character could have been played by a different actor with famous siblings.
“We wrote Hansel for Owen Wilson,” Stiller told Vanity Fair, “But at a certain point, there was a question of whether or not he was going to do it. And I don’t know if it was whether or not Owen wanted to do it, or if he was going to be available to do it. Because I definitely remember us doing readings for Hansel. And the one reading I remember being really funny, and he came in with like, a whole character, was Jake Gyllenhaal. But then Owen wound up doing it.”
Playing a brain-dead model whose main objective is to stop a DJ playing some Frankie Goes to Hollywood doesn’t exactly sound like Gyllenhaal’s usual forte, but in 2001, he was almost entirely unknown. He had made some impact as a child star and had fronted the biopic October Sky as a teenager, but he’d yet to fall into any sort of mould. It’s entirely possible then that he could have played Hansel, which would have surely changed the outlook of his entire career.
That being said, it’s hard to imagine anyone other than Wilson playing the role, not just for his naturally funny presence but also his excellent chemistry with his onscreen frenemy. Stiller. The two would go on to become an established pairing in the comedy world, appearing side-by-side in future projects like Night at the Museum, The Royal Tenenbaums, and, regrettably, Starsky & Hutch.
In a rare instance of everything working out for the best, Stiller and Wilson’s fantastic double act marked the beginning of a profitable comedy partnership, and Gyllenhaal made another starring turn in a little number called Donnie Darko, and the rest, as they say, is history.
