How Heath Ledger's death affected Jake Gyllenhaal's perception of mortality

'I think it (gave me) the experience of, ‘This is fleeting'

Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger (Getty)

Losing Heath Ledger had a profound effect on Jake Gyllenhaal, who says he is unable to put the scale of his loss into words.

Gyllenhaal has often spoken of missing Ledger in the years after his death and described the effect losing his close friend had on his career on the tenth anniversary of Brokeback Mountain, the film that brought about their friendship.

Ledger was 28 when he died of an accidental overdose of prescription medication, just weeks after wrapping up filming for his Oscar-winning turn as the Joker in Batman.

Gyllenhaal and Ledger became close friends after shooting Brokeback Mountain in 2005 and he was made godfather to Ledger’s daughter Matilda. In an interview with People, Gyllenhaal described how his death changed his perception of mortality.

“Personally, it affected me in ways I can’t necessarily put in words or even would want to talk about publicly,” he said.

“In terms of professionally, I think I was at an age where mortality was not always clear to me.”

“There is also that (new Macklemore song) where he says, ‘The curtain closes and nobody notices’ ... I think that’s true, and I think that’s OK. But I think at the time, I assumed everyone would notice — and they did with Heath dying, but I think it (gave me) the experience of, ‘This is fleeting.’”