I grew up in a family where many of our close friends were gay couples. As well as that, every man goes through a period of thinking they`re attracted to another guy.

I`m going to continue doing what I want to do. And if it means I want to go and make a big movie, if it has something to say, I will want to make it. I don`t want to spend my life wasting my time. If it`s a big movie, I want to do it. If it`s a small movie, I want to do it.

First, it`s Who is Jake Gyllenhaal?," then it`s "Get me Jake Gyllenhaal," then "Get me someone who looks like Jake Gyllenhaal," and then "Who is Jake Gyllenhaal?"...Right now, I`m between "Who is Jake Gyllenhaal?" and "Get me Jake Gyllenhaal."" [Gyllenhaal on the stages of fame in Hollywood]

It`s funny to me that people find other people getting coffee really interesting, or walking their dog in the dog park.

On the one role that got away: "I`d have to say Ewan McGregor`s part in Moulin Rouge! (2001). It was soooo close. I sang and everything. I went through months of auditions. It was between me, Heath Ledger and Ewan. I think it came down to age and where people were in their careers. I was the youngest and the least known. I would hope it didn`t have anything to do with talent. Maybe it did".

I`m like, `What world am I living in?` Aren`t movies made to have something to say? Why make a movie if you don`t have something to say? What are you doing it for? Are you doing it because you want to make a lot of money?

The best thing that I got was rehearsing with my father. It was always about the process of figuring things out, and trying something new, and having another take on something and keeping it alive.

Some movies you fall a step behind and some you stay in the same place, make the same choices. And then sometimes there are people who know more than you but show you, and that`s the maximum you can hope for - doing that with someone who says, "I like you for what you are, and I want you to be in my picture." I didn`t have to fake it or put on a mask - all the resources I had inside me were more than adequate. I don`t want to pretend to be something ... I`m not pretending any more to fit somebody`s mold. That`s a long-winded statement but - why not do what you really think, even if it`s a mistake?

If you`re going to spend seven months of your life - for me seven months, for Roland Emmerich, 3, 4, 5 years of his life - doing something, I think you have to have something to say.

We were talking about the kissing in the movie just recently. Clearly, it`s pretty challenging material, but Ang said two men herding sheep was far more sexual than two men having sex on screen.

Every man goes through a period of thinking they`re attracted to another guy.

Crazy people don`t sit around wondering if they`re nuts.

"I fooled around with Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams got pregnant." Interview about filming Brokeback Mountain (2005), 2006.

"You know, it`s flattering when there`s a rumor that says I`m bisexual. It means I can play more kinds of roles. I`m open to whatever people want to call me. I`ve never really been attracted to men sexually, but I don`t think I would be afraid of it if it happened." (Details, December 2005)

Coming from a family where my mom is a writer, I just respond to how people speak.

The truth is most of the films that make a lot of money no one remembers, and I`m not interested in making films that no one remembers.

In a perfect world, I would love to do one play for every three movies.

I admire actors and artists who devote just as much time to their life as they do to their work.

"Being a star doesn`t last. That`s not what life should be about. It`s a complete illusion that really has nothing to do with you. For me, finding out about life is the most important thing." (1999, Raygun)

We live in a sad time where actors are politicians & politicians are actors.

I admire actors and artists who devote just as much time to their life as they do to their work.