Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal both earned Oscar nominations for their roles in Brokeback Mountain — but they weren’t the only actors considered for the complex characters.
Set against the backdrop of 1960s Wyoming, cowboys Ennis Del Mar (Ledger) and Jack Twist (Gyllenhaal) develop an intense (and secret) love affair that is made only more complicated when they both marry their respective girlfriends, Alma Beers (Michelle Williams) and Lureen Newsome (Anne Hathaway) and have children.
Among the Hollywood A-listers considered for the roles of Jack and Ennis were Josh Hartnett and Leonardo DiCaprio. However, casting the film’s leading men proved to be more difficult than anticipated.
The 2005 movie was not a “universal love story,” screenwriter Diana Ossana recalled during an April 2018 Q&A session moderated by The Wrap, and noted “nobody would commit” to the lead roles. She remembered a long list of “prominent young actors” agreeing and later leaving the project during its eight-year development process.
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Edward Norton and Joel Schumacher were each asked to direct the film as well — both turned it down. “They didn’t give us any real excuse why they wouldn’t,” Ossana said. “I guess they saw it as too difficult.”
Despite the casting ups and downs, Ossana always wanted Ledger in the role of Ennis. “It was a battle to get him, but boy was it worth it,” she said. Brokeback Mountain went on to win three Academy Awards.
Scroll down to see which stars almost played Ennis and Jack:
