Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jake Gyllenhaal are one of the most famous Hollywood siblings, yet fans are still surprised to learn they’re related.
In a new interview with The New York Times published February 28, the Oscar-nominated actress opened up about reuniting with her younger brother on-screen for her upcoming second directorial project, The Bride — marking their first time sharing the screen in over two decades.
“I remember asking him and tearing up alone in this hotel room I was in, because it meant so much to me. It meant so much for me to interact with him,” Maggie, 48, recalled, noting that for years, she had been focused on carving her own path “separate” from her famous family.
“We’ve never been estranged,” Maggie said of the Marvel star, “but we’ve never been as close as we are now. We’re finally, maybe in the last five years, more and more and more, even each day, really interacting…”
Both siblings began acting as children in the early ’90s with supporting roles in their dad’s films, and the last time they worked together was on the 2001 thriller Donnie Darko. Jake, now 45, quickly landed leading roles in films like October Sky — something Maggie now admits evoked feelings of “envy” towards her brother.
Hence, reaching out to him after all these years felt “honest” and “vulnerable.” The Dark Knight actress told NYT, “I waited until I was absolutely sure that asking him to do this part was the right thing to do.”
