“Crying on the kitchen counter”: The missed audition that made Jake Gyllenhaal hate his parents
Even for an actor as successful as Jake Gyllenhaal, it’s impossible to forget the desired roles that he never attained.
Although his father was a prominent director and his mother was a successful screenwriter, Gyllenhaal is not often identified as a nepo baby because of how consistent and hardworking a star he has been. It’s easy to take him for granted when considering how long his career has been, and how many different eras there have been within it; it’s not that often that an audience has the opportunity to see an actor grow up and evolve through their performances.
His first true breakout role came in 1999 with October Sky, an inspirational coming-of-age film directed by Joe Johnston, and while it was released at just the right age when Gyllenhaal could believably play a teenager, he had also matured enough to be taken seriously as an actor; however, he revealed that he had an opportunity to audition for D2: The Mighty Ducks, which his parents prevented him from attending.
“I remember saying, ‘no’,” Gyllenhaal said, “I was applying to junior high schools and that I had to apply. I remember crying on the kitchen counter, telling them that I hated them”.
Not being able to direct the sequel to a popular Disney family film must have been crushing for him at the time, especially given how few opportunities are given to young actors, but his parents may have had some wisdom, as the film was a critical disappointment that didn’t break out in the same way that its predecessors did. More problematic was that none of the young stars of the film earned a major breakout, as press for the film was still centred on Emilio Estevez.
It did Gyllenhaal a service to start off in more under-the-radar films that gave him an enigmatic persona, which only succeeded in getting him more interesting work, like the time travel thriller Donnie Darko, which was initially a big success and evolved into one of the most beloved cult films of all time, analysed and studied to this day. Moreover, it was only a year after that Gyllenhaal starred in The Good Girl alongside Jennifer Aniston, who helped recommend him to David Fincher so that he could be one of the stars of Zodiac.
Not getting the chance to be in D2: The Mighty Ducks wasn’t the last time that he would miss out on an exciting opportunity, for he almost appeared in Zoolander as Hansel before Owen Wilson was eventually cast, and was briefly considered to replace Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker in Spider-Man 2 when the actor severely injured his back.
Regardless, his choices have become more exciting as a result, as due to the fact that his schedule was not cluttered by those major productions, he got to star in some of the best films of the 21st century, including Nightcrawler, Prisoners, Nocturnal Animals, and Brokeback Mountain, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actor’.
Gyllenhaal has reached a place in his career where he can seemingly do anything, and although he’s done a few more mainstream action films like Ambulance and The Covenant, he’s also been able to do more stripped-back and dramatic work in Stronger and Demolition, so, if anything, being in D2: The Mighty Ducks may have actually been a hindrance to his career.
