Why Jamie Lee Curtis Was Reluctant to Work With Godson Jake Gyllenhaal
Jake Gyllenhaal has always had a deep connection with Halloween star Jamie Lee Curtis. However, despite being her godson, Curtis wasn’t too keen on collaborating with Gyllenhaal.
Jamie Lee Curtis was nervous about working with her godson Jake Gyllenhaal
Curtis shared not too long ago that she was very hesitant about working with Gyllenhaal in Letters From Camp. Letters was a three-season heartfelt audiobook series for children. The podcast was about the investigation of a girl who mysteriously vanished, and would feature voice work from a few celebrities. Gyllenhaal would join the roster of Hollywood actors lending their voice to Curtis’ project. But initially, Curtis wasn’t sure she wanted to collaborate with her godson.
“I was nervous about asking Jake,” Curtis told Newsweek. “Because I don’t want [our relationship] to be transactional.”
Which was why Curtis would try to keep the Nightcrawler star at a distance in regards to film.
“I don’t ask him to come to movie premieres. I don’t ask when people do long lead interviews in magazines, and they always say, ‘Well, can we call Jake? Can we call Arnold Schwarzenegger to get quotes?’ I say ‘no, you can’t call Jake,’” she said.
It was only by coincidence that the two would end up teaming up for Letters From Camp.
“During COVID, he arrived in Los Angeles and needed a place to stay so he moved in to this house next door I have. He ended up staying there for four or five months,” Curtis recalled. “He came over one day, and I had this kind of look on my face. And he was like, ‘What’s going on with you?’ I was like, ‘Is there any way you would consider voicing this?’ Within a second, he was like, ‘Yes, of course. Oh, my God. Oh, how fun. Who is he? What do I get to do? What’s he do?’ And he immediately turned him into a character.”
Jake Gyllenhaal lived with Jamie Lee Curtis during lockdown
COVID lockdowns seemed to have brought Gyllenhaal and Curtis closer together. Gyllenhaal and his girlfriend Jeanne Cadieu moved close to Curtis during that period. Although they were already familiar with each other before, the pandemic gave the two the opportunity for some real bonding time.
“We’ve just gotten to know each other,” Curtis told People not too long ago. “He also lived with me during COVID for almost a year. He and Jeanne lived in the house next door that I have. And so there was also that. For a minute.”
According to Curtis, there was a lot of sourdough bread involved in their time together.
“So singing, acting, sourdough,” Curtis said. “And he did that test where you do a handstand against the wall and take your shirt off and put it back on.”
How Jamie Lee Curtis became Jake Gyllenhaal’s godmother
Curtis has referred to herself as Gyllenhaal’s celebrity godmother. The actor was given the title thanks to her friendship with Gyllenhaal’s own mother, who she knew for a very long time.
“I knew him as a babe, I knew him as a small kid,” Curtis told Entertainment Weekly. “So, when he actually started show business, I said, ‘Look, I’m your celebrity godmother. Just relax. It’ll be all good.'”
Curtis’ celebrity godson has even had a slight affect on her career. Gyllenhaal played a major part in convincing Curtis to do the 2018 Halloween reboot.
“I was sitting in the exact place I am sitting right now when my phone rang, and it was Jake Gyllenhaal,” Curtis told SFX. “I picked up the phone and he said, ‘Hey Jame, my friend David Gordon Green’—who he had just worked with on the movie Stronger—would like to talk to you about a Halloween movie.’ That was in 2017, in the summer. The last thing I thought five years ago that I would be doing would be a Halloween movie.”
