'Ex Machina' Producer Explains Why Jake Gyllenhaal Didn't Land Lead Role

Jake Gyllenhaal was very close to starring in Alex Garland‘s 2014 directorial debut movie Ex Machina.

In a new interview, the movie’s producer Andrew Macdonald confirmed that the 43-year-old was in talks to star in the movie as Nathan, but the role ended up going to Oscar Isaac.

Keep reading to find out more…“The sales companies wanted us to cast Jake Gyllenhaal because he was bankable and they could sell foreign territories. That would have changed the whole film,” Andrew shared during a Q&A at the 2024 Edinburgh Film Festival, according to Deadline.

However, negotiations with Jake‘s team became too much and the Oscar-nominated actor was taken out of the running for the role.

“I remember having a conversation with Jake Gyllenhaal’s lawyer about his needs,” Andrew recalled. “It was never going to work.”

Oscar, 45, and Alicia Vikander were then cast in Ex Machina, but Andrew admitted that their respective star power at the time failed to “raise the money through international sales.”

Oscar‘s lead role in 2013′s Inside Llewyn Davis eventually led to Ex Machina landing the funding to make the movie.

“We decided to make the film with Universal International and they had a film with Oscar Isaac, the Coen brothers film, and they believed it would win Oscars, so they thought he was a winner,” Andrew explained. “They also had an Alicia Vikander film that they thought was gonna be a winner as well, so they backed us.”

If you missed it, Jake recently shared an update on the sequel to one of his hit movies.