Jake Gyllenhaal is teasing an iconic partnership: starring in a film sister Maggie Gyllenhaal directs.
Maggie made her directorial debut with Oscar-nominated 2021 film “The Lost Daughter.” Jake told People magazine that he would “adore” to be directed by her.
“We talk all the time and we rely on each other,” Jake said. “She sees me for all of my stuff and she can bring that out in me. And I think I would show her vulnerability, probably, I haven’t been able to do onscreen and otherwise, because I trust her and I love her.”
Maggie and Jake have collaborated onscreen together but never behind the camera. The duo played brother and sister in “Donnie Darko” and starred in two films their father Stephen Gyllenhaal helmed, “A Dangerous Woman” and “Homegrown.”
Jake previously told InStyle magazine that he has a project in the works with Maggie directing.
“We actually talk about it more now than ever, and I would love to work with her,” he said. “We are working together on something right now, just creatively, not as actors, which I’m enjoying so much. I don’t think I can say yet. But, she’s an incredible writer, and she’s an incredible filmmaker, and I’ve known that for a long time. And now the world knows it.”
Jake has addressed his own writing and directing skills, ranging from revising Denis Villeneuve’s “Prisoners” script to shooting scenes himself for Michael Bay’s “Ambulance.” He also produced “The Guilty,” which was helmed by Antoine Fuqua amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Jake was behind Broadway Tony contenders “Sea Wall/I Love” and “Slave Play” as a producer as well.
“It was definitely a moment of great pride and joy when she won the screenwriting award at Venice,” Jake told IndieWire’s Anne Thompson in 2021 about sister Maggie’s accolades for “The Lost Daughter.”
He added, “We somehow found ourselves in the same business, having grown up with two parents who were incredible teachers in storytelling [who] were also, admittedly, competitive with each other. So that behavior was part of the model we were shown.”
Jake noted that he was looking to direct, and also was in talks to develop a limited series with Maggie at the time.
