More than just 'the gay cowboy movie': Heath Ledger discusses 'Brokeback Mountain'
Enrique Ollero
Issue date: 2/2/06 Section: Arts & Culture
Heath Ledger has been a knight, a high school outcast and a skater, but never a gay cowboy until now. He also wasn't nominated for a Golden Globe or a SAG Award until now either. Though "Brokeback" has seen it's fair share of controversy and scrutiny, the film has been breaking boundaries and garnering a lot of critical acclaim. While some may write it off as 'the gay cowboy movie,' Ledger feels very strongly that the core story of love breaks all molds and transcends any label.
THE OBSERVER: In an interview with Details magazine Jake Gyllenhaal said your characters are not gay. What is your feeling about it?
HEATH LEDGER: It's a touchy subject. Its two men that fall in love; you can't escape that. I think what Jake meant was that,…[we] wanted to tell a story of someone who transcends the label of straight or gay; he's a soul that falls in love with another soul within the vessel of a man. And I think Jake's character was more relaxed in his situation and more willing to express it while Ennis was more confused.
THE OBSERVER: Has he always been confused?
HEATH LEDGER: I don't think Ennis is a person who ever asked any questions. I think once he met Jake's character it was an innate reaction.
THE OBSERVER: Was Ennis ever in love with Alma, Michelle Williams' character?
HEATH LEDGER: I think he believed he was and I think he felt he should be, but I don't think it at the end of the day it was the love he had with Jack.
Maybe he would have denied himself that kind of love if he never met Jack.
THE OBSERVER: It seems to have taken a lot to maintain that performance; what was your process?
HEATH LEDGER: I wanted to investigate him. I actually had to ask a lot more questions than Ennis would ever ask himself and essentially I knew more about him that he would ever know…Then there was his physical aspects like how he would walk and act, I wanted him to be like clenched like a fist, even to have his mouth be clenched, any form of expression had to be painful. I put a lot of thought into that, and of course aging, I thought was really important, if we couldn't pull that off we were up the creek without a paddle.
THE OBSERVER: There is a gay rodeo circus now, I'm not sure how long it's been around but have you looked into that? Did you research it at all?
HEATH LEDGER: I don't think anything back then that we know of. I think that Annie Proulx's short story and the script that Larry (McMurtry) and Diana (Ossana) wrote were just so beautifully thorough and descriptive of the time and the characters that I had to do very little external research. In terms of how to be a cowboy or a ranch hand, I grew up in Western Australia so there's a lot of farm folk, there's something I find universal about people who spend all day and night on horseback, physically for example when they get off the horse they still look like they've got a horse between their legs (chuckles)
THE OBSERVER: You've been offered cowboy movies before, is there a difference between a cowboy movie and a Larry McMurtry cowboy movie?
HEATH LEDGER: Sure. I'm actually not a fan of the western genre. I never grew up watching cowboy and Indian films, so I'm not actually a huge fan of like John Wayne or anyone like that.
THE OBSERVER: Is there a model you based your character off of?
HEATH LEDGER: George Bush (laughs). No, it was very obvious from the screenplay just how to play it, who the characters were, I thought anyway.
THE OBSERVER: When this was originally optioned they couldn't find anybody to take the role on. Why did you?
HEATH LEDGER: It was the most kind of complex and internal character I've been offered to play and it would take a very mature performance out of me to complete this character. It was a perfect script and involves a story that hadn't been told which is hard to find in this industry and in general. I think the story of love is just getting recycled and stale and this just hadn't been put to screen. I thought I'd be crazy to turn it down.
THE OBSERVER: Was there a worry, because of the gay sex scenes and kissing, that your image couldn't take it?
HEATH LEDGER: Not really. I had to think about it, but you know it wasn't a huge problem for me. Everyone asks you know 'what was the most difficult thing for you,' or 'physically what was the hardest thing,' expecting me to say, 'oh, making out with Jake Gyllenhaal. and it's a really obvious thing to say, but at the end of the day after the first take (pause, makes kissing motion) it was like, ok let's get on with the day. Let's get through it. And all the mystery had been taken away. It really wasn't such a big deal. And yeah, he's a good kisser.
THE OBSERVER: It's interesting you have two movies out at the same time, 'Brokeback' and 'Cassanova', that deal with different aspects of sexuality. It's an important subject to examine. Did it give you any insights?
HEATH LEDGER: Nothing really, I'm very expressive and have investigated love and you know, love is love. It's never been a problem. I could have taught Ennis a thing or two, but I couldn't. I was never shocked by the idea that men could fall in love with each other. I always knew and respected that.
THE OBSERVER: Ennis comes from a tragic place and his love with Jack was really challenged by the time they were in. Would Ennis have still ended up alone today because of the guy that he is?
HEATH LEDGER: Yeah, perhaps. I think one way or another, he's very self destructive and complex within and he just doesn't understand. I think maybe he would manifest the loneliness within.
I always thought that the struggle against his genetics, you know his dad and the generations before him and their fears, I think that had a lot to do with him. And it ultimately defeats him.
THE OBSERVER: Would the love between Jack and Ennis been as strong if they were able to live together and be with each other on a day to day basis?
HEATH LEDGER: I think for Ennis the fact that it was forbidden did not make it more exciting for him. I think the story for me was this incredibly masculine figure who had this innate love for a soul in another man.
I think the society they're in, the restrictions that surround them, their inability to break free from society's requirements of them, people's opinion on a grand scale.
THE OBSERVER: What's next for you?
HEATH LEDGER: Nothing really, just raising my daughter and that's enough work and has been most enjoyable.
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