Gus Van Sant Name-Drops the 4 Famous Actors Who Turned Down Brokeback Mountain
Brokeback Mountain catapulted the already-thriving acting careers of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal when it was released in 2005.
The film was met with success during the subsequent award season, and the two actors each earned Oscar nominations for their respective portrayals of Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist.
Though it's now difficult to imagine anyone else in those roles, Gus Van Sant recently named the four other actors approached for the film.While promoting Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot, Van Sant said he was considered to direct Brokeback Mountain before the gig went to Ang Lee.
The director said it "wasn't working out," however, because actors kept turning it down, namely Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and Ryan Phillippe.
"Nobody wanted to do it," Van Sant told IndieWire.
"I was working on it, and I felt like we needed a really strong cast, like a famous cast.
