“That story, that idea of playing one of the most preeminent Jewish artists in America and his struggle with his identity was in my heart for 20-some-odd years”
The trailer for Bradley Cooper‘s Maestro dropped on Tuesday and was swiftly hit with criticism for the prosthetic nose its star wears to portray Leonard Bernstein — and the fact that Cooper is not Jewish.
While many have sided with Cooper (and Steven Spielberg who produced the film), Jake Gyllenhaal‘s comments about losing out on gaining the rights to the biopic were resurfaced online amid the debate.
“No one likes to admit this, but, we got beat at our own game,” Gyllenhaal, who’s mother is Jewish, said in a 2021 Deadline interview. The reporter had asked Gyllenhaal about how losing the project was “a bitter pill for young producers to swallow when the Bernstein estate assigned rights to the other project.”
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“That’s basically what happened. There’s really nothing more to say about it than that. There’s always another project,” continued Gyllenhaal. “Sticking your neck out, hoping to get to tell the stories you love and that have been in your heart for a very long time is something to be proud of.”
“And that story, that idea of playing one of the most preeminent Jewish artists in America and his struggle with his identity was in my heart for 20-some-odd years, but sometimes those things don’t work out,” said the actor.
“In this business, if you’re lucky enough to stick it out for a while, we can easily forget that getting to tell the story isn’t the most important thing,” he concluded. “I mean, this is our life. Gotta enjoy it. Bottom line, and this may be my Achilles heel or it may be my superpower, but I wish them the best.”
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When the reporter noted that was a “generous” take, Gyllenhaal said that if you are “caught up in worrying about something you have no control over, then you can’t give your whole self to the thing that’s right in front of you.”
Coming on the heels of 2019’s A Star is Born, Cooper is both starring in and directing Maestro. The film promises to follow Bernstein’s legendary composing career and his relationship with wife Felicia Montealegre, played by Carey Mulligan.
Maestro will be released in select theaters November 22 and on Netflix December 20.