AceShowbiz - Jake Gyllenhaal is uncovering the truth about Heath Ledger's work ethic. When reminiscing about his work on Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain", the "Spider-Man: Far From Home" actor revealed his late co-star took his acting seriously that he turned down offers to present at the 2007 Academy Awards over a proposed joke about the film's homosexual love story.

In a new interview with Another Man magazine, the 39-year-old Hollywood star recalled, "I mean, I remember they wanted to do an opening for the Academy Awards that year that was sort of joking about it." He added, "And Heath refused. I was sort of at the time, 'Oh, okay... whatever.' I'm always like: it's all in good fun."

While the "Prince of Persia: Sands of Time" star admitted he did not mind poking fun at their characters' romantic relationship, the same didn't apply to his late co-star. He recounted further, "And Heath said, 'It's not a joke to me - I don't want to make any jokes about it.' "

This was not the first time Gyllenhaal publicly admired his co-star for his stance over their film's parodies. "I see people who have joked with me or criticized me about lines I say in that movie - and that's the thing I loved about Heath. He would never joke," he opened up to "Sunday TODAY" host Willie Geist in July 2019. "Someone wanted to make a joke about the story or whatever, he was like, 'No. This is about love. Like, that's it, man. Like, no.' "

Elsewhere in an interview with Another Man, Gyllenhaal confessed that he still couldn't bring himself to watch his 2005 film even after more than a decade since it was released. Still, he could not help but note on its significance. "There are things you're chosen for - a quality, an essence - and Ang did that," he explained. "And it's still a mystery to me. And something that Heath and I shared: that it was a mystery to us at the time."