Knocking down the dominoes and filling in the gaps - Jake and Peter

Maggie Gyllenhaal isn't the only member of the GyllenGaard to have a move in, or about to hit, theatres. Peter Sarsgaard will be seen on the big screen in the US from 24 July in Orphan. And, while I can't say that I'm a big afficionado of films with scary children who can lurk and scream on command, it's true to say there's definitely something wrong with Esther.



To commemorate Peter's re-entry into theatres, here is a brief but affectionate post about Peter and his favourite brother-in-law Jake Gyllenhaal, who have appeared together in two films, most memorably in Jarhead: 'In "Jarhead," he plays Troy, the mentor to a young recruit (Jake Gyllenhaal) as they fight boredom in the desert in the 1991 war. It's a guarded, intense performance, a Sarsgaard specialty. "The easiest way to steal something is to pick it up and walk out of the room with it," he says. Oscar buzz-builder Jeffrey Wells of Hollywoodelsewhere.com predicts Sarsgaard will "score big with this performance." Gyllenhaal was left in awe.'


'"I spent the whole movie going, 'Is Peter just lazy? Does he care to be here?' " Gyllenhaal says. "And in that remarkable big moment, the crux of the film, I sat there after three or four takes, all phenomenal, and I shook my head. You could see all the dominoes that he'd lined up, in his performance, up to then. "He knocked them over, and I was like, 'Whoa. What? Can I go back and do my part over again? From the start?' "You never know what he's doing. But he's just lining up the dominoes."'


In return, Peter looked up to Jamie Foxx: '"The man was incredible: He was going through his Oscar stuff at the same time he was doing this movie," Sarsgaard says. "I have a lot of respect for his ability to do that, but it's also interesting to see how that worked with everyone's relationship with him. He's sort of the distant father, the guy we all respect and look up to." "Jarhead's" other cast members regarded Foxx with admiration on- and off-screen, according to Sarsgaard. "Jamie took that sense of pride and authority, and it's in (his performance)," he says. "We all relate to it — it actually really works in the movie."'


And on how Jarhead affected his relationship with Jake, Peter has some interesting things to say: 'Sarsgaard gives a loud if not entirely mirthful honk of laughter. 'Hah! I would say that ultimately it affected it positively, although there were times when we didn't get on that well at all. There's a 10-year gap between us and in life it's like I'm Jake's older brother. But brothers can fall out, of course, and while most of the time Jake is as respectful of me as I am of him, sometimes he forgets that and gets a little … mmm, awkward. And then there was the fact that Maggie became jealous because she and I have always wanted to do a film together, but here I was acting with Jake. So, there were certain issues that needed to be resolved, put it that way.'


'"On the other hand, being very good friends with Jake was a great help on the film. To begin with, there wasn't that much of a part for me on paper, but we found we were able to fill in the gaps with our relationship. Obviously, I wouldn't have been able to do that with another actor."'


''I don't want to spend my whole time in this showbiz bubble. I try to make sure that all my friends aren't actors. Sometimes, though, that can be quite hard. For instance, you have to go to a certain number of showbiz parties as an actor and if you get invited to something by Russell Crowe then it's hard to refuse. But, if you're not careful, that sort of thing can take you over and suddenly you find your life has become very small and airless.'


'In the past few months, however, something quite unexpected has happened to Peter Sarsgaard: people have begun to stop him in the street to ask for his autograph. 'Normally, when I'm walking along with Jake and a crowd of people comes towards us, they walk straight through me to get to him - and I stand by the car until he's finished. But now people have begun holding out these pieces of paper for me to sign.' 'How does that feel?' 'Incredibly bizarre!' he says. 'Quite disconcerting, in fact. You see, I've got so used to being invisible.''

To finish, this video has some of my favourite moments of Jake and Peter together - featuring Jake's 'ridiculous roast beef'.