Jake Gyllenhaal Recalled The First Time He Heard About Heath Ledger Before They Starred In “Brokeback Mountain,” And The Story Might Surprise You

Years before they were costars in Brokeback Mountain , Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal were competing for lead roles in Hollywood.

In a new interview with Howard Stern , Jake pulled back the curtain on his career and reflected on some of the biggest jobs he closely missed out on — starting with Christopher Nolan ’s Batman Begins in 2005 .

Looking back, Jake said he was aware that he was competing with Christian Bale , who was eventually cast as Batman , and recalled making it to a final round of auditions, where he got to wear the famous Batsuit.

If Jake had gotten the role, he’d have eventually shared the screen with Heath, who famously played the Joker opposite Christian in The Dark Knight . And though this never came to be, Heath's and Jake’s careers fortunately crossed paths in a number of other ways before Heath's tragic death.

Talking to Howard, Jake recalled first hearing about Heath when they went up against each other for Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 musical movie, Moulin Rouge .

As we now know, Ewan eventually bagged the role, and Jake revealed that both he and Heath were “disappointed” by the loss at the time.

Reflecting on it now, Jake acknowledged that rejection is all a part of the process, saying, “In the end … you learn to go, ‘There’s another one.’ Right? I can try and go in and audition for another one. I'll get something else … you keep that attitude.”

Of course, it was only a few years later, in 2005, that Heath and Jake shared the screen in Brokeback Mountain , which earned both of them Oscar nominations and is considered one of the best movies of the 2000s .

Just as with Moulin Rouge and Batman Begins , the casting process for Brokeback Mountain was seriously competitive, with actors like Josh Hartnett and Joaquin Phoenix also in the running to star.

But just as Jake said, when you keep going, the right opportunities will find you.

You can watch Jake's interview with Howard Stern here .

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