TORONTO — Quebec director Denis Villeneuve has made two English-language features since 2012 — and both star Jake Gyllenhaal.
“We spent almost a year and a half together,” Villeneuve said, referring to filming last year’s Prisoners and the soon-to-be-released Enemy.
“He’s really an actor that I’m deeply inspired by. We are good friends and not afraid to be authentic and say the truth to each other. We push our limits.”
Appearing on Global’s The Morning Show, Villeneuve said he has been a fan of Gyllenhaal’s work since films like Brokeback Mountain.
“I was just amazed by what he did in the past,” he said. “Jake is a very profound and strong actor. I hope I have the chance to work with him again.”
While Prisoners is earning Villeneuve Oscar buzz, Enemy is awaiting a March release. In the drama, Gyllenhaal plays a man who discovers he has a lookalike.
The movie co-stars Toronto’s Sarah Gadon.
“Sarah is a fantastic actress,” said Villeneuve. “I think we will hear a lot about her in the future. She’s going to be a huge star.”
Villeneuve described Enemy as “a necessary step” between his French-language films like Incendies and his Hollywood debut Prisoners (which has grossed $118 million worldwide).
“I was afraid to have my identity crushed by the system,” said the native of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. “In Hollywood there are different kinds of people and you have to work with the right ones.”
Enemy is also special because it is actually set in Toronto.
“We were deeply inspired by Toronto,” said Villeneuve. “It’s a very cinematic city.”
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