Maggie Gyllenhaal has revealed that she experienced envy toward her brother Jake Gyllenhaal, a fellow actor, in a recent conversation with The New York Times. Reflecting on her emotions, Maggie acknowledged that she was not fully aware of this envy when they were younger, despite Jake’s early success as a movie star.
Exploring the Nature of Envy and Admiration
The actress expressed a deep curiosity about the emotion of envy, describing it as one of the seven deadly sins and something she finds intriguing when watching others’ work. She distinguished between admiration and envy, suggesting that envy often stems from a sense of lacking or feeling starved.
“I don’t think I knew that at first, when I was young and Jake was a movie star right away. I don’t think I was in touch with the envy, but it was there.” – Maggie Gyllenhaal
“In general, I am very interested in envy,” – Maggie Gyllenhaal
“I think there’s a reason it’s a seven deadly sin. I’m interested in it in terms of watching other people’s movies come out. Admiration versus envy. What creates it? I think it’s usually feeling starving, like you don’t have enough.” – Maggie Gyllenhaal
A Renewed Bond on Set of Bride of Frankenstein
Maggie and Jake have never been estranged, but she shared that their relationship has grown closer recently, particularly during the making of her upcoming film, Bride of Frankenstein. The increased interaction between the siblings has been significant for Maggie.
“We’ve never been estranged, but we’ve never been as close as we are now,” – Maggie Gyllenhaal
“We’re finally, maybe in the last five years, more and more and more, even each day, really interacting, which is hard for people to do.” – Maggie Gyllenhaal
Asked about involving Jake in her project, Maggie described the emotional weight of the decision and how meaningful it was for her personally.
“I waited until I was absolutely sure that asking him to do this part was the right thing to do,” – Maggie Gyllenhaal
“I remember asking him and tearing up alone in this hotel room I was in, because it meant so much to me. It meant so much for me to interact with him.” – Maggie Gyllenhaal
Shared Early Beginnings and Past Collaborations
Both Maggie and Jake began acting as children, with Jake debuting in the 1991 comedy City Slickers and Maggie starting her career with Waterland in 1992. The siblings previously appeared together in the cult favorite film Donnie Darko, marking one of their earlier collaborations.
