Heath Ledger "Brokeback Mountain" as a nominee for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, the "Los Angeles Times" referred to his presentation as an "apparent gay spoof". Ledger called the "Times" later and explained that his levity resulted from stage fright, saying that he had been told that he would be presenting the award only minutes earlier; he stated: "I am so sorry and I apologise for my nervousness. I would be absolutely horrified if my stage fright was misinterpreted as a lack of respect for the film, the topic and for the amazing filmmakers." Ledger was quoted in
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