- Jake Gyllenhaal told Another Man magazine that Heath Ledger refused to present at the 2006 Oscars because the Academy wanted “Brokeback Mountain”-related jokes at the expense of gay people.
- Gyllenhaal said Ledger told him: “It’s not a joke to me – I don’t want to make any jokes about it.”
- Gyllenhaal said that he loved how seriously Ledger took it and that Ledger said: “This is about love. Like, that’s it, man. Like, no.'”
- “Brokeback Mountain” won three Oscars at the 2006 ceremony, and both Ledger and Gyllenhaal were nominated for their performances.
- But Gyllenhaal said that he still can’t watch the movie back as it is too painful for him.
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Jake Gyllenhaal said that his “Brokeback Mountain” costar Heath Ledger refused to present at the 2006 Oscars ceremony because he didn’t want to be part of any jokes at the expense of gay people.
Speaking with the fashion magazine Another Man, Gyllenhaal said: “I mean, I remember they wanted to do an opening for the Academy Awards that year that was sort of joking about it.”
“And Heath refused. I was sort of at the time, ‘Oh, OK… whatever.’ I’m always like: It’s all in good fun. And Heath said, ‘It’s not a joke to me – I don’t want to make any jokes about it.'”
Gyllenhaal, who told Another Man that he still couldn’t watch the movie because it’s too painful, acknowledged how prescient of Ledger that seemed in retrospect.
"Brokeback Mountain" was a major player at the 2006 Oscars, with both Ledger, who later won a posthumous Oscar for "The Dark Knight," and Gyllenhaal nominated for their performances. The film won three Oscars that year: best adapted screenplay, best original score, and best director for Ang Lee.
After the film lost best picture to "Crash," many decried the Academy's reluctance to reward an LGBT-centered movie the top prize. Eleven years later, "Moonlight," which followed a gay character in Miami, won best picture at the 2017 Oscars.