It is difficult to overstate the impact that Brokeback Mountain had on the pop culture landscape back in 2005. An adaptation of an Annie Proulx short story, directed by auteur Ang Lee and starring two of the most sought-after actors of the time, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, in retrospect it seemed destined for success. But it was the film's gay love story and memorable sex scene which made the biggest waves, depicting the complicated and tragic relationship between cowboys Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist in a way that few mainstream movies had ever done before.
However, the film very nearly turned out very differently.
In a recent interview with News.com.au, actor Josh Hartnett revealed that he and Joker star Joaquin Phoenix were originally lined up to play Ennis and Jack, but scheduling conflicts led to them having to quit the project.
"I was going to do Brokeback Mountain," he said. "And I had a contract with Black Dahlia that I had to film, so I had to drop out of it... It was a different film altogether, it was me and Joaquin Phoenix. But they went on to do it with Heath and Jake."
He then joked: "I've always wanted to kiss Joaquin, so that’s my biggest regret."
Of course, Ledger and Gyllenhaal ended up doing pretty well in the roles, and were both nominated for Academy Awards for their performances. Gyllenhaal has previously stated that Ledger, who died in 2008, was very proud of the film, and "protective" of its central love story.
"He was extraordinarily serious about the political issues surrounding the movie when it came out," Gyllenhaal told Out. "A lot of times people would want to have fun and joke about it, and he was vehement about being serious, to the point where he didn’t really want to hear about anything that was being made fun of."
Philip Ellis is News Editor at Men's Health, covering fitness, pop culture, sex and relationships, and LGBTQ+ issues. His work has appeared in GQ, Teen Vogue, Man Repeller and MTV, and he is the author of Love & Other Scams.
