Director Ang Lee on Working with Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal: “They are pretty opposite. I think Heath is very methodic. I don’t usually ask them. They don’t have to tell me; they just understand what I tell them. When I see something I like, that’s all that counts. What they use, how they get there, I never bother them.
I guess Heath has a very meticulous way of approaching the character, because from take to take there is not a lot of difference. It’s not like he pre-programmed it and he actually went without responding. He would respond, but he set himself in a certain zone that seemed to me pre-determined and he kept refining it. Jake, on the other hand, was more free style. Every take he would have a wide variety with an understanding of what the scene was about, what the character develops. That might conflict with Heath’s performance sometimes. He’ll respond differently. In a way, I think it’s good, because Heath is really the anchor for that Western mood. So, it’s good that he’s reliable and always that way with very subtle changes.
Jake, I sometimes had to remind him that innocence is on his side. As a young actor they are scary good, but they can forget that innocence is on their side. They are too skillful; they take away some of the innocence. So, basically just remind them.”
Ang Lee on Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal’s Chemistry Onscreen: “The chemistry I pretty much played in my head because nobody sees. I didn’t see it. I just imagined they were a good couple. I cast Heath very much as the short story required. I did something quite different with Jake. In the novel, he is even stronger, bulkier, shorter, very rough. And Jake, of course, is more like a city boy. I think he is a good romantic lead and I think he is a good counterpart to Heath.
I cast Jake first and then Heath. I was hoping I would meet somebody like Heath. As soon as I met Heath, I imagined they would be a good match for a romantic love story. The first time I met them together we were in L.A. in a restaurant. So, that was the first time all three of us were together.”
Ang Lee Doesn’t Think About the Performances in Terms of Being Brave: “Once you are in a zone, whatever scares you, once you are believing you are falling in love with something, it disappears. All they are worrying about is how to make it work. And after you make it, you have to talk your way out of it. You see what happens and you’re concerned again. But when we’re doing that, we are happy. We are just happy and we are anxious whether a scene will work or not. They are good actors. That is what they should do. I believe that much. So it never occurred to me that female fans, girls, what would happen to their careers... They knew what they were getting into.
I remember at one point in the first lovemaking scene in the tent, I remember thinking, ‘This is brave,’ particularly of Jake. The way he pounds. You see in the dark…but I see very clear right in front of my eyes, the detail, and it was very close with a hand-held camera. The whole scene was in one shot. So many times you see beautiful lovemaking scenes with a lot of exposure or an awkward lovemaking scene, but I think it’s very rare that you see it private. And that’s what we were shooting for with this story. And I think you see some private moment there [with] actors kind of beside themselves. I think, as actors are, they are pretty brave.”
