Hard to believe it’s been ten years since the release of Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain. Speaking to BET recently, actor Jake Gyllenhaal was asked if he thought the landscape had changed for actors playing gay:
“Oh definitely it’s changed. I think playing a role and living a life are two very different things. I think telling stories, and all different stories, is what makes acting so great. It’s why I was really proud of Brokeback Mountain and everything it had to say. And it was an interesting journey to go on to learn about that world.”
And how does Jake feel about the arrival of marriage equality as a constitutional right?
“When I heard about the news I thought, wow, how far we’ve come in a decade. And how far we have to go in so many things. But I think hopefully something like that in terms of—the resistance of society and seeing that it’s possible to change was such an amazing thing. I remember thinking, my mom sent me the decision.
“And how it was written, I thought it was so beautiful. And she said it’s all about love. My brother said to me a few weeks ago, all we leave behind is the wake of our life, that’s all we have. And to know that that wins out sometimes is an inspiration to me.”
