Yahoo Finance Jake Gyllenhaal Celebrates Donnie Darko 's 20th Anniversary: 'Let's Keep Confusing People'
Newmarket Releasing/courtesy Everett Collection
Jake Gyllenhaal is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his cult classic film Donnie Darko.
The 40-year-old actor shared some behind-the-scenes "artifacts" from the 2001 movie on Instagram Tuesday and reflected on the impact of the film two decades after its release.
"Pulled out my script and some artifacts from Donnie Darko... It was released 20 years ago today," Gyllenhaal wrote in the caption. "It's a film that changed my life and my career and it's been unreal to watch this story find afterlives with new audiences and new generations, and yet, what Donnie said to Roberta Sparrow is still true: 'there is so much to look forward to.' "
He added, "Thank you to all the fans who've come up to me over the years with that confused look on their faces and asked me: 'what the f**k is Donnie Darko about??' Happy 20th Donnie! Let's keep confusing people. Here's to 20 more."
The psychodrama about a troubled teen plagued by enigmatic visions was Gyllenhaal's breakout role and resonated with him in a way few other films had.
"Auditioning at a young age, I was always like, 'What are these movies about? My high school experience wasn't like this at all,' " Gyllenhaal said in a 2016 interview on The Jess Cagle Show. "And then Donnie Darko came up and I was like, 'Oh, this feels like my high school experience.' [laughs]. So if that gives you any insight into who I am and how I pick roles, then I hope it does."
Getty Jake Gyllenhaal
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Gyllenhaal added that Donnie Darko represents one of his favorite movies he's made and one he's most proud of as an actor.
Even though it doesn't depict his worldview in a literal sense, Gyllenhaal said that "there are a lot of things in there that I believe about the world."
Donnie Darko also starred the actor's older sister Maggie Gyllenhaal, Holmes Osborne, Daveigh Chase, Mary McDonnell, Patrick Swayze, Drew Barrymore, Jena Malone and Seth Rogen.
