By taking the roles that they did in Brokeback Mountain the men’s sexuality was brought into question by the media. This is what sparked the comments by Gyllenhaal defending his heterosexuality. What I find most astonishing is that an actor’s sexuality (which was previously known) would even be called into question based on a role he or she chose. When an actor plays a villain his moral standing is not called into question yet if there are any homosexual undertones in a film his sexuality may be questioned. The roles the men took after Brokeback Mountain both portray each man as very masculine and undeniably straight.
The men’s reactions speak more to the public’s perception of the film and the media’s reaction rather than to the actual level of comfort the men had in portraying a homosexual character. If anything their reactions reflect their level of comfort when their sexuality is called into question. For an actor of such stature a certain public persona must be maintained and in this case that persona is heterosexual. Both men are seen as sex symbols with a majority of ever-watchful female fans. Keeping one’s reputation in tact is important when in the public eye. It’s not to say that being a homosexual in the public’s eye is a bad thing, however being falsely perceived as homosexual may cause some problems. For this reason the men most likely felt as though they needed to prove their masculinity and heterosexuality to the public. Hence, they both took actions to do so.
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