Between Birdman, Fury, Gone Girl, and now Jake Gyllenhaal’s Nightcrawler, there’s been no shortage of recent movies that have had me gladly handing over my cash for a ticket. The new thriller has Gyllenhaal playing a seedy gonzo crime journalist, and has been getting stellar reviews. Jake lost a considerable amount of weight for the role, which we all know translates to Oscar buzz.
Along with Prisoners, End of Watch, and Source Code, Jake Gyllenhaal’s had a strong string of respectable movies in the last few years. And with lead roles in Southpaw and David O. Russell’s Nailed coming out in 2015, that string is only going to get longer. The actor hasn’t always been lucky in his acting gigs, though; he’s had a few blockbusters slip through his hands over the years. Here are seven roles that were just never meant to be part of Jake Gyllenhaal’s IMDB resume.
The Mighty Ducks (1992) — Jake nearly had a chance to be part of the greatest ragtag hockey team composed of middle schoolers that cinema has ever known. Unfortunately for him, after he was offered a part his parents nixed the idea because filming the movie would have taken him out of school for two months. If they ever do a D4: Old Ducks on the Ice, Gyllenhaal should be a shoo-in for a walk-on part.
“I remember them saying, ‘No.’ That I was applying to junior high schools and that I had to apply,” Gyllenhaal recalled. “I remember crying on the kitchen counter, telling them that I hated them.”
American Beauty (1999) — Had Jake Gyllenhaal landed the part of upper middle class drug dealer Rick Fitts, he could have become a household name even earlier. Besides filming plastic bags blowing in the wind, Ricky’s character played a pivotal part in Kevin Spacey’s regression into adolescence and helped the movie take home four Oscars. Nevertheless, it wasn’t meant to be and actor Wes Bentley snagged the part.
The Patriot (2000) — Jake’s main competition for the part of Mel Gibson’s son in the Revolutionary War action flick was his future Brokeback Mountain co-star Heath Ledger. Heath of course ultimately landed the role of Gabriel Martin, but not until after Jake auditioned several times for the part.
Lord of the Rings (2001) — Gyllenhaal missed out on obtaining the one ring to rule them all when he botched his audition for the part of Frodo in The Fellowship of the Ring. The young actor was completely unaware that the part would require him to use an accent and described the audition as his worst ever.
“I remember auditioning for The Lord of the Rings and going in and not being told that I needed a British accent. I really do remember Peter Jackson saying to me, ‘You know that you have to do this in a British accent?’ We heard back it was literally one of the worst auditions.”
Moulin Rouge (2001) — Jake went up for the part of Christian, but lost out to Ewan McGregor because producers thought he looked too young when paired with Nicole Kidman. The audition wasn’t a completely wasted opportunity though, as it provided the first meeting with Ledger who was also auditioning for a part in the musical.
Spider-Man 2 (2003) — When the first Spider-Man movie became a mega hit, the film’s sequel quickly went underway, and then Tobey Maguire injured himself and nearly sidelined the entire project. That’s when the film’s producers began talking with Jake about taking on the web-slinger role. The casting choice made sense to Jake, who has said that people have told him that he and Tobey look alike. In the end, Maguire bounced back and returned for the second film in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man franchise, before doing the third installment that should never be watched by anyone. Ever.
Batman Begins (2005) — Before Ben Affleck crammed his Beantown butt into the batsuit, Christian Bale and Jake Gyllenhaal were in the running for Christopher Nolan’s Batman revamp. Being only 24 at the time, Gyllenhaal was a little young for the role, but he did have writer David S. Goyer’s backing. It was only during Christian Bale’s audition that Goyer was swayed towards Bale to play the Dark Knight.
