Jake Gyllenhaal sits down with Q guest host Brent Bambury to talk about his latest film, Enemy — an erotic existential thriller in which he plays two identical men — and his unique relationship with Montreal director Denis Villeneuve.
In the psychological thriller, Gyllenhaal plays the dual roles of a nervous University of Toronto professor and his confident doppelganger. He opens up on the complexity of playing the contrasting characters in the film and exploring the conscious and unconscious mind.
The Oscar-nominated actor also explains the deep collaboration he and Villeneuve have on set, the trust between them and how their fraternal honesty shines through in the on-screen product.
“He wanted to respect my process wholly, and that’s very rare,” Gyllenhaal tells Bambury. “He was looking for a real collaborator and also someone to lead.”
When Q host Jian Ghomeshi spoke to Villeneuve back in September, the director also had much to say about his collaborative relationship with Gyllenhaal, saying the two were “like brothers; from the start it was very intense. It’s a kind of love and hate relationship.”
“I love the idea of collaboration, to evolve with someone,” said Villeneuve.
“We are both big egos; we are both a bit narcissistic; we are both very competitive. So, sometimes we clash together.”
Villeneuve also said the movie really gets into his leading man’s real mind — calling it a a documentary about the subconscious of Jake Gyllenhaal — something the actor identifies with to a certain extent.
“In a way, it’s really about the exploration of all of our unconscious,” explains Gyllenhaal.
“Whether you believe in a collective unconscious or not, I think we were bringing a deep, strange honesty to the process of making this movie.”
Listen to the full interview here or download the mp3 in the media section.
