Heath Ledger hated gay jokes about Brokeback Mountain, says co-star Jake Gyllenhaal

The late actor earned his first Oscar nomination for the romantic epic, which was released in 2005

Jake Gyllenhaal has revealed that his late co-star Heath Ledger consistently shut down attempts to make fun of Brokeback Mountain, their seminal gay love story that earned both actors Oscar nominations in 2006.

Speaking on The Today Show, Gyllenhaal said that Ledger hated when individuals made jokes at the film’s expense, or lines of dialogue spoken by the pair – most notably the quote “I wish I knew how to quit you”.

“I see people who have joked with me or criticised me about lines I say in that movie — and that’s the thing I loved about Heath,” Gyllenhaal said. “He would never joke. Someone wanted to make a joke about the story or whatever, he was like, ‘No. This is about love’. Like, that’s it, man. Like, no.’”

Gyllenhaal also revealed the impact the role had on his career, revealing: “It opened tons of doors. It was crazy. It was amazing. It’s defined my career in different ways.”

But he also spoke of the film’s legacy having a far greater purpose than his own career, adding that he quickly realised that “[the film] is bigger than me… It has become not ours anymore. It’s the world’s.”