'We felt safe together' Jake Gyllenhaal talks to GQ about Heath Ledger, life, fun and love. And another PoP featurette!

We knew it was going to be good, but oh it's good. Jake Gyllenhaal and his come hither eyes reaching out from the cover of GQ. Who cares about the colour of the suit when you have that face, with all its emotion, looking at you from the newspaper stands. Not only the movie star, we also have Jake demonstrating some of his other skills - shop assistant, sweet expert, crowd thriller, furniture climber and table tennis player - yep, here we see how handy Jake is with a B-A-T.



While we wait for the full interview, we have some excerpts from across the net, which range from the very moving (about Heath Ledger and his parents' divorce) to the typically hysterical - Jake likes to jump and he loves horns (musical horns that is). So here are some snippets.


The New York Post has this to say about Jake and this interview: 'But, if it's possible, this new interview in the May issue of GQ Magazine made me see him in a more extreme light. He's an even funnier, kinder, more thoughtful fella than I assumed before.'

And some quotes from there '"I just loved jumping whenever they said 'Jump!' I loved the idea that someone would say just go ahead and jump: 'Man, you know what? Just go ahead and f***ing jump!' 'Really?' And Van Halen was like, 'Yes, my friend.'"


'Kinder, via his family: "During conversation [about his parents divorce], Jake also says this: 'Family ... my family, you know ... I love them ... whatever they do, whatever they are ... I love them ... you're actually going to make me cry ...' And just a little, he does." Thoughtful, via his love of horns: "Horns are, to me, the most affirmative instrument to say there is something beyond where we are. In Mumford & Sons [music], whenever those horns come on, I feel like it's all going to be okay. Life's all good -- for the whole world. Maybe that's sophomoric, but I really feel that in my heart."'


'"Some relationships last a lifetime, and some relationships don’t,” he said. ”I think it takes a lot of courage for my parents to make the decision that they made, and I trust both of them and their outlook on life. They’re wonderful parents to me and my sister [Maggie].” “I think any successful marriage, even if it hasn’t lasted for a lifetime, will create a sense of an ideal,” he goes on. “But I don’t have a fantasy. There’s not a fantasy. I know it’s messy, is what I want to say.”' Source.


And from Just Jared. On working with Heath Ledger: “He was very sensitive. He didn’t always have a sense of performance in his everyday life. He knew who he was. I think actors very often, they know how to present something, and that’s part of their job. I think he was just really sensitive. We often used to do a lot of things together, because people were very interested in him and I think we felt safe together.”'


'On his experience filming Brokeback Mountain: “There was something magical in that time. We all slept in our trailers out by a trailer park in the first month of making that movie. I was sleeping next to Ang’s trailer; Ang’s trailer was next to Heath and Michelle’s trailer—they’d kind of moved in together. And Michael Hausman, the producer, brought his Airstream trailer down. And it was just us, by this river, for a month. And we would walk to set, and we would eat together, and we would make coffee in the morning, and I would wake up in the morning and there would be Ang Lee doing Tai Chi outside of my trailer, and it was just magical.”'


'On how Heath’s death affected him: “I don’t really like talking about it. That period of time was…it was difficult. He was very sensitive. He didn’t always have a sense of performance in his everyday life. He knew who he was. I think actors very often, they know how to present something, and that’s part of their job. I think he was just really sensitive. We often used to do a lot of things together, because people were very interested in him and I think we felt safe together. Even when we did Brokeback and stuff, it was like my work was the only thing that mattered to me. It was like I could only understand or define myself through doing that. Life, I didn’t totally understand. And I think I was afraid of life. And I had success in my work, enough success that you could keep going back there. But after that happened…I think I recognized that it was work. And I recognized that this is for real.”'


'On his life as a single man: “It’s…it’s okay.… It goes in either direction. I think it’s important for every man to find the right woman and every woman to find the right man.… Who am I to say what the most important thing in life is? The best answer I could give to any of those things is that I really don’t know. Particularly right now in my life.”'


'On his parents’ divorce: “I think it takes a lot of courage for my parents to make the decision that they made, and I trust both of them and their outlook on life. They’re wonderful parents to me and my sister.”'

'Brother-in-law Peter Sarsgaard on a fight he and Jake had, causing them not to speak for ten days: “The nice thing is, for Jake, he doesn’t see having any argument as something that ruins a relationship. He sees it as something that could potentially help one. That’s something I learned from him. I’m extremely close with him. He’s basically my brother.” Peter further points out, in extolling Jake’s virtues, how unusual he is: “It’s a very difficult thing—or it has been over the course of my life—for me to have respect for people like Jake, who are not self-destructive, who are positive. There are very few actors who have that quality. I go [sighs], ‘Ohhhh, motherf–ker just wants to live—f–k him.’ and my thesis with Jake is that it is genuine. He is not doing it to be more popular and more successful, it is actually who he is.”'


There is much to digest here and much to cherish and a huge amount to look forward to from this extraordinary, talented young man who makes my heart beat faster every day.

He can also swing round poles, walk up walls and leap over deadly chasms... Yes! We have another Prince of Persia featurette! This certainly bodes well for extras... The new featurette is on Parkour and stunts and we get to see much more of Jake impressing the stuntmen and the French trainers. Jake's enthusiasm and achievement for doing many of these stunts and daredevil feats himself should not be underestimated - this is full-on.



It's also good to see how much Gemma Arterton enjoyed the chance to be a stuntwoman and how proud she was that it's her you see.



Pictures from GQ. Thanks to Alejandra for bigger pics!