Heath Ledger aspired to be a film director. For his portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in "Brokeback Mountain", Ledger won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor and Best International Actor from the Australian Film Institute, and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and the Academy Award for Best Actor. Posthumously, he shared the 2007 Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award with the rest of the ensemble cast, the director, and the casting director for the film "I'm Not There", which was inspired by the life and songs of American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan.
Jake Gyllenhaal rumors circulated regarding the actor's sexual orientation. When asked about such gossip during an interview, Gyllenhaal said: Gyllenhaal narrated the 2005 short animated film "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers", based on Mordicai Gerstein's book of the same name about Philippe Petit's famous stunt. In January 2007, as host of "Saturday Night Live", he put on a sparkly evening dress and sang "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from the musical "Dreamgirls" for his opening monologue, dedicating the song to his "unique fan base... the fans of "Brokeback"". In 2007, Gyllenhaal starred in David Fincher's mystery thriller