Jake Gyllenhaal began, Gyllenhaal praised his encouraging direction of the actors and sensitive approach to the material. At the Directors Guild of America Awards on January 28, 2006, Gyllenhaal also praised Lee for "his humbleness and his respect for everyone around him". When asked about his kissing scenes with Heath Ledger in "Brokeback Mountain", Gyllenhaal said, "As an actor, I think we need to embrace the times we feel most uncomfortable." When asked about the more intimate scenes with Ledger, Gyllenhaal likened them to "doing a sex scene with a woman I'm not particularly attracted to". Following the release of "Brokeback Mountain",
Jake Gyllenhaal death of his fiancée and the grief of her parents. The story, which received mixed reviews, is loosely based on writer/director Brad Silberling's personal experiences following the murder of his girlfriend, Rebecca Schaeffer. Gyllenhaal was almost cast as Spider-Man for "Spider-Man 2" due to director Sam Raimi's concerns about original "Spider-Man" star Tobey Maguire's health. Maguire recovered, however, and the sequel was shot without Gyllenhaal. (The actors—who later played brothers in "Brothers"—resemble each other enough that Gyllenhaal has jokingly complained about cab drivers often calling him "Spider-Man".) Instead, Gyllenhaal starred in the blockbuster "The Day After Tomorrow" in 2004, co-starring