Jake Gyllenhaal recently shared on The Howard Stern Show his experience of missing out on two significant roles during the final stages of casting: Batman in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins and Christian in Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! In the latter audition, Gyllenhaal competed with Heath Ledger and Ewan McGregor. During this process, Gyllenhaal first learned of Ledger, who would later co-star with him in Brokeback Mountain.
Jake Gyllenhaal Comments on Losing Batman Role
“I felt disappointment when I didn’t get it. Both Heath and I were disappointed,” expressed Gyllenhaal. “But that’s Ewan McGregor’s part. You learn to go, ‘There’s another one. I can try and go in and audition for another one. I’ll get something else.’ You keep that attitude.”
Gyllenhaal kept a positive attitude when he missed out on the role of Batman in Batman Begins a few years after the disappointment of not landing a part in Moulin Rouge! David S. Goyer, who developed the story for Batman Begins and collaborated with Nolan on the screenplay, recently confirmed speculations that Gyllenhaal was his preferred candidate to portray Batman in Nolan’s trilogy. Nonetheless, the role went to Christian Bale in the end.
“To Nolan’s credit and to Baz Luhrmann’s credit, both of those directors personally called me to inform me that I didn’t get the role,” Gyllenhaal shared. “And they explained their reasoning. When you reach that stage, there’s a genuine possibility of landing the role. It’s not just a dismissive ‘thank you.’ They would say, ‘I saw these qualities in you that I really wanted for the role, but ultimately I decided to go in a different direction because it better suited the person who would be opposite you. It could be something as trivial as the color of their hair or their height.’ Many intangible factors may not seem significant individually, but collectively influence the decision-making process.”
“To me, I just think, ‘Look at how far you got! So just keep trying and keep going.’ That’s what I felt,” the actor continued. “I remember getting a call from Christopher Nolan and thinking, ‘I just got a call personally from Christopher Nolan. That’s pretty cool. I’ve gotten pretty far. I went from them being unsure about me to a call saying they’re really considering me for this movie. So okay, I should keep going. I should just keep going.'”
There was a Problem with a Particular Movie
After starring in the disaster movie The Day After Tomorrow, Gyllenhaal was considered for the role of Batman in Nolan’s Batman Begins. Although he ultimately didn’t land the part, missing out on it allowed him to star in acclaimed films like Brokeback Mountain and Jarhead, both released the same year as Nolan’s superhero film. Gyllenhaal recently expressed to Screen Rant his ongoing interest in potentially portraying Batman in the future.
“Wow, that’s a classic role. It’s truly an honor,” Gyllenhaal responded. “When I consider taking on roles that other incredible actors have portrayed in the past… For instance, I’m going to portray Iago in Othello alongside Denzel Washington, and I reflect on the rich history of actors who have embodied that character over time, and that legacy daunts me. That’s the primary focus for me at the moment. However, of course, it would always be an honor. Roles like that are timeless classics.”
Here you can see Jake Gyllenhaal’s appearance in The Howard Stern Show:
