Searchlight Pictures
Some of the greatest Hollywood collaborations have come about through chance encounters and random conversations. Such was the case with "Zodiac," David Fincher's critically acclaimed 2007 true crime thriller about the Zodiac Killer and the investigation surrounding him. The film features something of an ensemble cast, with the likes of Robert Downey Jr. playing journalist Paul Avery and Brian Cox playing celebrity lawyer Melvin Belli.
The two lead roles, though, are played by the duo of Mark Ruffalo and Jake Gyllenhaal, with the latter playing famed writer Robert Graysmith and the former playing detective Dave Toschi. While both actors are big-time stars today — and already were in 2007, with Gyllenhaal a particularly hot item coming off "Brokeback Mountain" and "Jarhead" — the pair might never have been put together for "Zodiac" if not for Jennifer Aniston.
"I was talking to Jennifer Aniston," David Fincher explains on the film's DVD commentary track. "We were talking about movies, and actors that she had worked with that she just loved, and Jake Gyllenhaal was one of them, and Mark Ruffalo was the other one." When it came time to finally start casting "Zodiac," Fincher remembered Aniston's glowing endorsements and wound up selecting both actors for the leading roles. "She was telling me just how unbelievably talented these guys were," Fincher added. He was especially interested in Gyllenhaal because he was a fan of "Donnie Darko." Both choices wound up being right on the money, as "Zodiac" has gone down as one of the best films of Fincher's career.
Jennifer Aniston had worked with the stars of Zodiac in the early 2000s
Paramount Pictures
Aniston was a good person to consult on the talents of both Ruffalo and Gyllenhaal in the mid-2000s, as she'd recently worked with both of them. She and Gyllenhaal had only just starred in the 2002 drama film "The Good Girl," in which Aniston plays Justine, a 30-year-old woman in a stagnant marriage and a dead-end job. Gyllenhaal costars as Holden, a dangerous but alluring man whom Justine has an affair with, which quickly spirals out of control). It's an especially fraught relationship between the two characters, so Aniston certainly would have been able to say well how capable Gyllenhaal could be handling dramatic material. And thanks in part to her endorsement, "Zodiac" also became one of Gyllenhaal's best films.
In 2005, Aniston similarly shared the screen with Ruffalo in "Rumor Has It," a film that didn't exactly receive the same level of praise that "The Good Girl" did three years prior. That's not Aniston's fault though, nor Ruffalo's, who plays her romantic partner in the movie. The story is sort of a meta spin on "The Graduate," and while it didn't quite land with critics, it was clearly enough to give Aniston a glowing view of Ruffalo early in his career.
Given that "Zodiac" didn't come out until 2007, Gyllenhaal in particular must have left a real impression, as his performance stuck with Aniston enough for her to recommend him to Fincher several years later. Both Gyllenhaal and Ruffalo's performances and the ending of "Zodiac" are likely to stick with you long after you watch them.
English (US) ·