Jake Gyllenhaal to play closeted gay man – again – in new film based on iconic Broadway musical
Jake Gyllenhaal (Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty)
Jake Gyllenhaal is set to star as a closeted gay dad in an upcoming film based on Broadway musical Fun Home.
The film – which is also being produced by Gyllenhaal’s production company Nine Stories Productions – is based on the 2015 musical which is in turn based on Alison Bechdel’s 2006 graphic novel.
Fun Home tells the story of Bechdel’s upbringing with her closeted gay dad Bruce Bechdel, who will be played by Gyllenhaal, Broadway Direct reports.
The production will likely be hotly anticipated after the Broadway musical won a slew of awards including Best Musical at the Tony Awards in 2015.
Jake Gyllenhaal-produced film Fun Home tells the story of Alison Bechdel’s upbringing with a gay dad.
The musical revolves around Alison Bechdel’s childhood in a small town in Pennsylvania where her gay father runs a funeral home. It follows her struggle to connect with her father, who leads a secret life separate from his family. As Alison comes to terms with her own sexuality, she hopes that her relationship with her father will improve.
Sadly for audiences, the Fun Home film adaptation is still a while away – no casting or release date have yet been announced.
This won’t be the first time Gyllenhaal has taken on playing a queer character. He famously played Jack Twist in Brokeback Mountain where he starred opposite Heath Ledger. The film is one of the best known LGBT+ films of the 21st century and garnered critical acclaim as well as a slew of awards on its release.
He has a history of playing LGBT+ characters on-screen.
He also recently played a gay character in Netflix film Velvet Buzzsaw.
Gyllenhaal recently revealed that Ledger – who died in 2008 – hated jokes made at the expense of Brokeback Mountain and their depiction of same-sex love.
Speaking to The Today Show in July, the actor said Ledger would routinely shut down problematic comments about the film.
“I see people who have joked with me or criticised me about lines I say in that movie — and that’s the thing I loved about Heath,” explained Gyllenhaal.
“He would never joke. Someone wanted to make a joke about the story or whatever, he was like, ‘No. This is about love’. Like, that’s it, man. Like, no.’”
Discussing the impact the film had on his career, Gyllenhaal said: “It opened tons of doors. It was crazy. It was amazing. It’s defined my career in different ways.”
