Jake Gyllenhaal: Heath Ledger was my best friend and I miss him
Brokeback Mountain star Jake Gyllenhaal has paid an emotional tribute to late co-star Heath Ledger.
Gyllenhaal opened up about his “best friend” Ledger, who died of an accidental drug overdose at age 28.
“I miss him as a human being,” said Gyllenhaal, ten years after the release of Brokeback Mountain.
He went on: “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 was incredibly special, and that doesn’t even come close to encapsulating who he is — who he was.”
The famed film followed the story of a ranch hand and a rodeo cowboy, and their sometimes turbulent and heartbreaking relationship.
Gyllenhaal went on: “I know, not only can this career end in a very short period of time and this or that can happen, but also that life is precious.
“I think losing Heath and being a part of a family that was something like the movie, that movie we all made together, makes you see that, makes you appreciate that and hopefully moves you away from the things that really don’t matter to the things that do.”
The star, who is currently promoting his film ‘Southpaw’, earlier this week celebrated that the Supreme Court ruled in favour of same-sex marriage.
He said: “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 live, that’s all we have. And to know that that wins out sometimes is an inspiration to me.”
