Filling Gyllenhaal's romantic boots?
"Brokeback Mountain" star Jake Gyllenhaal is, as the old saying goes, "sitting in the catbird seat."
One Hollywood producer, fresh from high-level casting meetings this week, says that Gyllenhaal has reportedly stopped taking on new roles because he's waiting to get that big Oscar nomination, figuring, and rightly so, that once he gets an O nod he can raise his price, get better parts, etc. Right now, he's not even up for a Golden Globe, so his biz buzz is not as loud as say, Heath Ledger's.
But be forewarned, Jake. There is also the dreaded "Hilary Swank Oscar," a Hollywood term that translates to a huge award that brings none of the usual benefits — no better roles, no more moola, etc. And now comes Swank's sudden shockeroo split from Chad Lowe, a move that surprised even longtime Swank-Lowe watchers — the celeb-seasoned red carpet photographers, who were marveling about the seemingly devoted couple's breakup backstage at the People's Choice Awards. Hmmm. Maybe they should call it the Curse of the Swank Oscar.
Anyway, this big-time Hollywood producer theorizes that Gyllenhaal gets cast so darn much because basically there is nobody else around to cast as an under-40 romantic male lead.
Oh, c'mon. Surely there's more out there than Jake. Let's see — Colin Farrell, but he's kinda busy right now. Hayden Christensen? Nope. He played waaay too petulant in the last "Star Wars" saga. After Sharon Waxman's New York Times career-skewering piece on Orlando Bloom, he'll be lucky to get a meeting at any studio. Look, his name isn't even bold-faced anymore! Jeepers, that happens fast.
As for Ryan Phillippe? He's definitely a contender after his performance in "Crash." Then there's that old reliable, Leonardo DiCaprio, who's starting to look a little long in the tooth. Topher Grace's got a kind of goofy boy-next-door potential. And Wilmer Valderrama is definitely praying he can get on this short list. Then there's "Vegas" hottie Josh Duhamel, who would make a great love interest for any actress.
Anybody got any other casting suggestions for the poor hunk-less producer?
Photo: Jake Gyllenhaal (Hollywood's Hottest Hunk?) at the Critics' Choice Awards
(Steve Granitz / WireImage)
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Um, Ryan Gosling?
Where is Josh Harnett?
Ryan Phillippe deserves something. He never gets credit for his great work.
Brokeback Mountain deserves every award available!
I know since I am a gay man who fought the bigots that created the conflicts and personal pain of the characters most of my adult life. I wept during the movie and had to walk for a long time to get over my anger.
Is this column serious??? Jude Law, Peter Sarsgaard, Casey Affleck, Matt Damon, Mark Ruffalo, Joaquin Phoenix, Christian Bale, Josh Lucas...
There may be a shortage of guys in their 20's, but not under 40.
I don't think Bloom is out yet. Hopefully the Kingdom of Heaven SE DVD will prove that he does have the talent to match his looks. Eric Bana is nearly 40, but my god is he the best thing in movies. Ewan McGregor? James Franco? Joaquin? Christian? And for some newbies, I recommend checking out BBC for some hotties. Always, hands down, the best source. Also, on that note, may I suggest Matthew Macfadyen from P+P?
Josh Lucas?? He's a good actor, very attractive, and we haven't seen all he can do as of yet.
I think Wentworth Miller is posed to be the next big male action-hero-type lead actor.
Interesting that this article comes out around the time voting is supposed to happen for Oscar noms. I wonder how reliable this article or this big producer is. I have no reason to believe Jake isn't going to casting meetings until after an Ocar nod. Wonder what kind of movie or movies this producer is trying to make? Also what makes it less credible is saying that Jake has only been cast in so many movies because he is under 40. Um, what, there are a bunch of actors such as Peter Sarsgaard, Ryan Gosling, Jude Law, Joaquin Phoenix, Matt Damon, Mark Ruffalo, Christian Bale, to name just a few.
As for the Oscar nom, I definitely think Jake deserves one. His performance in "Brokeback Mountain" is brilliant and has been wrongly overlooked.
Some more leading men actors under 40 are Ewan McGregor and Elijah Wood and Tobey Maguire. So, the whole, Jake is the only one around under 40, is ridiculous.