Mike Faist already has years of theater performing beneath his belt (together with roles in stage productions of “Newsies” and “Pricey Evan Hansen”), though cinephiles most likely know him finest for his standout flip as Riff in Steven Spielberg’s “West Aspect Story.” In the meantime, Lucas Hedges landed his first Greatest Supporting Actor Oscar nod for “Manchester by the Sea” and has performed queer characters on a number of events, together with within the motion pictures “Woman Chook” and “Boy Erased.” The actor has beforehand described himself as “not completely straight,” though he clarified throughout a 2018 interview with Advocate that he sees himself extra “as falling inside the umbrella of being an ally.” With that being mentioned, Hedges additionally admitted he is discovered his private sense of sexuality “a fluid expertise.”

In some methods, Faist and Hedges are in the identical place career-wise as Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger had been once they performed Jack and Ennis in Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain.” In that case, Gyllenhaal was the arthouse wunderkind, coming off roles in movies like “Donnie Darko” and “The Good Lady” earlier than making the leap to the blockbuster enviornment with “The Day After Tomorrow” the yr earlier than “Brokeback.” Ledger, by comparability, had made his title as the teenager heartthrob star of “10 Issues I Hate About You” and “A Knight’s Story.” Nevertheless, the late actor transitioned fairly effortlessly into a personality actor after that, starring in motion pictures like “Monster’s Ball” and “Lords of Dogtown.”

Personally, I’ve combined emotions about “Brokeback Mountain” being re-adapted in 2023. As poetic and poignant as Lee’s movie and Annie Proulx’s supply materials are, it is near-impossible to separate them from the cultural context by which they got here to be. Nonetheless, there’s a variety of sturdy expertise concerned with the stage re-imagining, which is price one thing.