Jason Schwartzman was supposed to lead the star-studded cast of Richard Kelly’s Donnie Darko. He expressed interest in the script and agreed to play Donnie, but he eventually had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. It was at this point that Gyllenhaal got his hands on the script and was mesmerised by it. He once said that he pulled over to the side of the road to finish reading it.
Donnie Darko is one of those rare sci-fi psychological thrillers that leave the viewers with more questions than answers. However, the film received poor reviews at the Sundance Film Festival, following which Kelly found it hard to find U.S. distributors for the film. While its initial theatrical gross was a measly sum, the film went on to attain more money on reissues and a cult status.
Jake Gyllenhaal saved Donnie Darko after Jason Schwartzman had to drop out of it
Jason Schwartzman was once eyed to play the titular role in Donnie Darko. He was so interested in the script that his agent sent it to Nancy Juvonen, who co-owned the production company, Flower Films, with Drew Barrymore. Juvonen and Barrymore joined the film as executive producers and agreed to produce it with Pandora Cinema.
Richard Kelly expressed gratitude for Schwartzman’s initial involvement in a THR article, which called the actor an “unsung hero”. Kelly shared in the article that Schwartzman attaching himself to the script “legitimized” it. He shared, “It legitimized me as a director, and there were people coming back out of the woodwork who were willing to put up the money to finance the movie with me directing it.”
However, when the film made certain accommodations for Barrymore, Schwartzman’s schedule couldn’t work. At the time, he was already committed to another film. More actors like Mark Wahlberg, Patrick Fugit, and Lucas Black were considered for the role. However, it would eventually go to Jake Gyllenhaal.
During an interview with Vanity Fair, Gyllenhaal shared that Donnie Darko was the first movie offered to him without any audition. He recalled that after reading the script, he didn’t have a great initial impression of Kelly, thanks to the dark nature of the script. However, he found Kelly to be “totally unassuming, really lovely, very kind, just a regular guy” on their first meeting.
He was offered the part, and he called the process “one of the most powerful experiences I’ve had in making a film.” He shared that the movie had an incredible cast, who went on to create great things. He shared that it was one of those rare films where he got to act with his sister, Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Jake Gyllenhaal understood the story, which made him a great fit for the role
Jake Gyllenhaal seems to have grasped the complicated story of the film well, and it showed in his excitement to commit to the film. During the Vanity Fair interview, he shared that the movie was about the unconscious. He shared, “It’s a movie about the power of the unconscious and the power of growing up and what that means.”
Gyllenhaal also found the film to be an atypical representation of adolescent life, which was different from the high school movies of that time. He shared that the subject matter of the film felt more true to him. He shared:
The complications, the pain, and the struggle of what it feels like to grow up… And why it struck me was that at the time, there were all these sort of high school films coming out that were all about your typical experience. This to me was an expression of adolescence that was far from typical and somehow really felt more true to me.
He further talked about the popular ending of the film that left far too many audiences with numerous questions. Gyllenhaal loved a “full-stop ending resolution” usually, but he believed that Donnie Darko‘s core theme was in the question mark at the end. He shared that the film stood the test of time because it “messes with you a bit.”
The initial theatrical run of the film just grossed $517,375 (via The Numbers). However, the film’s reissues were more successful. According to The Guardian, it was the release by Metrodome in the UK that proved to be a game-changer. The film received a cult following, and it eventually grossed $7.5 million at the box office against a $4.5 million budget.
Donnie Darko is now available to stream on Prime Video.
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