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Heath Ledger: the day the actor snubbed the Oscars
In 2007, Heath Ledger turned down the Oscars. In an interview for Another Man in 2020, Jake Gyllenhaal revealed the reason for his boycott.
When Heath Ledger snubbed the Oscars. The actor and his colleague, Jake Gyllenhaal, were nominated for an Oscar thanks to their performances in the romantic drama by Ang Lee: Brokeback Mountain. The groundbreaking gay romance was favorite. As proof, the film won three of the eight Oscars for which it was nominated that year: best director, best adapted screenplay and best original score. In 2007, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal were guests on the Oscars broadcast. But in an interview for the magazine Another Manwe learn that the late actor – born April 4, 1979 – declined the opportunity.
The reason for his refusal? Heath Ledger did not wish to participate because that would amount to making jokes at the expense of the love story gay Brokeback. “I mean, I remember they wanted to do an Oscar opening that year, it was kind of a joke regarding it”, declared Gyllenhaal. “And Heath refused. I was kind of at the time, ‘Oh, okay… whatever.’ I’m always like, ‘It’s all fun.’ And Heath said: “It’s not a joke to me – I don’t want to make jokes regarding it.” Jake Gyllenhaal explains the fact that the actor “never joked. Someone wanted to make a joke regarding the story or whatever, they’d say, ‘No. It’s regarding love.”
Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal nominated for Oscars
The film Brokeback Mountain marked the first Oscar nominations for both actors. Then Heath Ledger won the Academy Award for Best Actor in The Dark Knight de Christopher Nolan. And posthumously, he also received an Oscar. As for Jake Gyllenhaal Brokeback remains his only Oscar nomination to date. This film marked a pivotal moment in his career. “It opened tons of doors”did he declare, “It was crazy. It was amazing.”
