Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal both earned Academy Award nominations for their roles in Brokeback Mountain — but they weren’t the only actors considered for the complex characters.
Set in 1960s Wyoming, cowboys Ennis Del Mar (Ledger) and Jack Twist (Gyllenhaal) develop an intense (and secret) love affair that gets even more complicated when they both marry their girlfriends Alma Beers (Michelle Williams) and Lureen Newsom (Anne Hathaway) and have children.
Among the Hollywood stars considered for the roles of Jack and Ennis were Josh Hartnett and Leonardo DiCaprio. However, casting the male leads in the film turned out to be more difficult than expected.
The 2005 film was not a “universal love story,” screenwriter Diana Hosanna recalled during a Q&A session in April 2018 moderated by The casingand noted that “no one would commit” to the lead roles. She recalled a long list of “prominent young actors” who signed on and later left the project during its eight-year development process.
J. Vespa/WireImage Heath Ledger would have turned 45 on Thursday, April 4 — and his legacy is still being remembered. The Australian-born actor died aged 28 on January 22, 2008. after an accidental drug overdose. The toxicology report released after his sudden death revealed that Ledger died of “acute intoxication from (…)
Edward Norton and Joel Schumacher were asked to direct the film as well – and both turned it down. “They didn’t give us a real excuse why they wouldn’t do it,” Osana said. “I guess they found it too difficult.”
Although throwing ups and downsHosanna always wanted Ledger as Ennis. “It was fight for himbut boy was it worth it,” she said. Brokeback Mountain won three Academy Awards.
Scroll down to see which stars almost played Ennis and Jack:
