Seth Rogen confessed he had doubts about Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance in “Donnie Darko” back when they filmed the science fiction thriller over two decades ago.
The star and co-creator of “The Studio” reflected on his time making “Donnie Darko” as part of the New York Times‘ oral history for the film, which celebrated its 25th anniversary on Monday. And, as Rogen told the outlet, he wasn’t convinced about how the movie would “land” during production.
“I remember seeing [Gyllenhaal] on set and being like, ‘I don’t know how this is going to land,’” Rogen, who played high school bully Ricky Danforth in the now cult classic, said. “He wasn’t playing this charming version of it.”
He added: “I remembered thinking he put a level of thought into this that I didn’t even realize, as an actor, was on the table.”
In addition to Gyllenhaal and Rogen, whose performance in “Donnie Darko” marked his first film role, the thriller also starred Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, Mary McDonnell, Katharine Ross, Patrick Swayze and Noah Wyle. Richard Kelly wrote and directed the movie, which followed Gyllenhaal as a troubled teenager haunted by a figure in a rabbit costume warning that the world is set to end.
Though, it wasn’t just Gyllenhaal that caused Rogen to have doubts, as he noted elsewhere in the interview, “I remember thinking, ‘This will either be really good, or it’ll be like the weird B-movie of itself.’”
While “Donnie Darko” didn’t initially perform at the box office, in large part due to its advertising being limited following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the film later found success thanks to DVD and VHS sales, midnight screenings and eventual reissues.
On “Donnie Darko” overcoming its box office shortcomings and transforming into a cult classic, Rogen noted, “If a thing is good and resonates, it will find its people. I think ‘Donnie Darko’ very much was that.”
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