How Tobey Maguire Influenced Jake Gyllenhaal While Filming Brothers
Jake Gyllenhaal reveals Tobey Maguire's unique acting approach that inspired him on the set of Brothers. Released in 2009, Brothers tells the story of Army Captain Sam Cahill (Maguire), who is shot down and presumed dead while on a tour in Afghanistan, leading his brother, Tommy (Gyllenhaal), to begin caring for Sam's family. When Sam is revealed to still be alive, he returns home but has trouble reconnecting with his wife, played by Natalie Portman, due to the unthinkable experiences he endured while being held captive.
Made for $26 million, Brothers earned just over $43 million at the box office, making it a relative success. The film currently holds a 64% on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics praising the intensely emotional performances of Maguire, Gyllenhaal, and Portman. Maguire, in particular, goes to some dark places in the film's third act as he portrays Sam crumbling under the weight of the disturbing things he was forced to do while in captivity. Brothers is a remake of a 2004 Danish film of the same name and is written by David Benioff, who is now well known for his work on the hit HBO series, Game of Thrones.
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In a new interview with Esquire, Gyllenhaal reflects on his experience making Brothers and reveals that his co-star, Maguire, inspired him to change his approach to acting. At the behest of director Jim Sheridan, Maguire immersed himself in the world of PTSD-stricken war veterans, going to great lengths to achieve his intense performance. After seeing the lengths Maguire was going in order to get into character, Gyllenhaal decided to emulate that for his own approach. Check out Gyllenhaal's full comment below:
“I was influenced by watching Tobey
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