The duo starred in the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain, and became close friends. The 35-year-old sat down with People and Entertainment Weekly where he candidly recalled how the Aussie actor’s passing impacted both his personal and professional life.
“Personally, it affected me in ways I can’t necessarily put in words or even would want to talk about publicly,” he explained to EW’s editorial director Jess Cagle about Heath’s passing.
“In terms of professionally, I think I was at an age where mortality was not always clear to me.”
Jake, who was just 27 when Heath died, explained that he’d never lost many friends up until that point.
“I think you live in this bubble, too, of making films … There are real friends, and there is a real community,” he recalled.
Previously Jake has revealed that he and Heath were friends even before the filming of Brokeback Mountain.
“There is also that [new Macklemore song] where he says, ‘The curtain closes and nobody notices’ … I think that’s true, and I think that’s okay. But I think at the time, I assumed everyone would notice – and they did with Heath dying, but I think it [gave me] the experience of, ‘This is fleeting.’”
Before adding, “And none of the attention or synthesized love that comes from the success of a film really matters at all.”
“What matters is the relationships you make when you make a film, and the people you learn from when you’re preparing for a film. That changed a lot for me.”
Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain
It’s clear that the impact Heath had on Jake’s life was monumental.
Just last year the now-35-year-old candidly shared his thoughts about his dear friend.
Jake, who is the godfather of Heath’s daughter with Michelle Williams, Matilda, admitted that the pain was still there during a sit down with Vanity Fair.
“I miss him as a human being, and I miss working with him. And what an unfortunate thing it is that we won’t be able to see the beauty of his expression,” he quipped.
For more of this interview head to PEOPLE
