Four actors were originally in line to play the lead roles in Brokeback Mountain before they went to Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger.

In a brand new interview, filmmaker Gus Van Sant - who was originally set to direct the Oscar-winning drama before Ang Lee - revealed which set of two high-profile actors he wanted for the project.

“Nobody wanted to do it,” Van Sant explained to IndieWire. “I was working on it, and I felt like we needed a really strong cast, like a famous cast. That wasn’t working out.”

It was here that he confirmed that the film was turned down by both Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt as well as Matt Damon and Ryan Phillippe before finding its way to Gyllenhaal and Ledger. According to Milk director Van Sant, they all said no.

“What I could have done, and what I probably should have done, was cast more unknowns, not worried about who were the lead actors,“ he added, admitting: “I was not ready. I’m not sure why. There was just sort of a hiccup on my part. There was something off with myself, I guess, whatever was going on.”

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Van Sant's comments were corroborated by co-screenwriter Diana Ossana who stated they all turned down the opportunity to star “for various reasons.”