Jake Gyllenhaal says Christopher Nolan personally telling him he lost Batman role was 'pretty cool'
Jake Gyllenhaal recently opened up to Howard Stern about what it was like losing the role of Batman in Christopher Nolan‘s “Batman Begins.”
Jake Gyllenhaal recently opened up on “The Howard Stern Show” about what it was like losing two major roles during the final rounds of casting: Batman in Christopher Nolan's “Batman Begins” and Christian in Baz Luhrmann’s “Moulin Rouge!”
On the latter film, the audition process came down to Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger and Ewan McGregor. It’s here where Gyllenhaal first heard of Ledger, who would later become his co-star in “Brokeback Mountain.”
“What I felt was disappointment when I didn’t get it. Both Heath and I were disappointed,” Gyllenhaal said. “But that’s Ewan McGregor’s part. You learn to go, ‘There’s another one. I can try and go in and audition for another one. I’ll get something else.’ You keep that attitude.”
Gyllenhaal maintained that healthy mindset when he lost out on “Batman Begins” a few years after “Moulin Rouge!” fell through. David S. Goyer, who came up with the story for “Batman Begins” and co-wrote the script with Nolan, recently confirmed rumors that Gyllenhaal was his personal top pick to play Batman in Nolan’s trilogy. Christian Bale ultimately won the role.
“To [Nolan’s] credit and to Baz [Luhrmann’s] credit, both of those directors called me personally to tell me [I didn’t get the role],” Gyllenhaal said. “And they will tell you why."
Rating: 5