Jake Gyllenhaal On How Losing Batman Role Fueled His Motivation

Jake Gyllenhaal had come close to some serious franchise roles early in his career only to lose out in the final round. The Oscar-nominated actor, who can now be seen in the Roadhouse remake on Prime Video, recently talked about what drove him harder when being let down.

Talking to Howard Stern, Gyllenhaal said that losing out on Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins and Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge helped him become more motivated in landing roles he believed in. He also praised both directors for coming to him personally and telling him he didn’t get the roles and why.

“When you get that far, there’s a real legitimacy to you potentially getting something. It’s not like they’re going, ‘Oh, thanks so much.’ They are going, ‘I saw these aspects of you that I really wanted in the role and are wonderful, but in the end I ended up moving this way because it matches better with this person who is opposite you or would be opposite you,” he said. “The color of their hair or their height, whatever it is. There are all these non factors that really are the inexplicable stuff that if you start to pick away at it doesn’t work, it’s not healthy.”

Being unable to work on Batman Begins allowed Gyllenhaal to work with another would-be Moulin Rouge star, Heath Ledger, in the pivotal Brokeback Mountain. The film earned Gyllenhaal his first Oscar nomination and worldwide critical acclaim.

“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 going they aren’t sure [about me] to a call saying they’re really thinking about you for this movie. So okay, I should keep going. I should just keep going.”

Gyllenhaal was also considered as a replacement for Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man 2 should the actor’s pre-existing back condition bother him. The actor followed Brokeback with David Fincher’s Zodiac and was elevated to leading man status.

As for playing Batman, Gyllenhaal isn’t averse to capes after playing Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home and would still love a shot at the Caped Crusader.

“It’s an honor,” Gyllenhaal answered. “Speaking of playing roles that other incredible actors have played in the past…when I think about it, I’m going to play Iago in Othello with Denzel Washington, and I think about like the history of actors that have played that role throughout time, and I’m intimidated by that. So that’s the first level. That’s what I’m working on right now. But of course. It would be an honor always. Those types of things and those roles are classics.”