Maggie Gyllenhaal says she knew she wanted to make her first movie after playing a porn director
- Maggie Gyllenhaal's first film "The Lost Daughter" debuted at the Venice Film Festival in September.
- Gyllenhaal told Insider she knew she wanted to make her first film after playing a porn director on "The Deuce."
- "I kind of went, 'This is me actually,'" she told Insider.
Maggie Gyllenhaal's directorial debut "The Lost Daughter" premiered at Venice this summer, and during a press conference with journalists, Gyllenhaal told Insider that she knew she wanted to move behind the camera after playing a fictional porn director on HBO's "The Deuce" (2017-2019).
Gyllenhaal, 43, told Insider that she "learned so many things" during the production of "The Lost Daughter" but one of the most important was that she's "always been a director."
"I just didn't feel entitled to admit it to myself," she said. "So weirdly I think it was playing Candy on 'The Deuce,' playing a porn director on television when I kind of went, 'This is me actually.' And I think it's true, I think it's a better job for me."
Gyllenhaal — who has enjoyed a successful acting career in Hollywood starring in blockbusters like "The Dark Knight" before moving into the director's seat — also told Insider that she was inspired by the work of Mike Nichols, the acclaimed director of "The Graduate."
"I didn't actually work with Mike Nichols — I wish I had worked with him," she said. "But I once did a reading of a play with him and I spent an afternoon with him and he gave me a couple of directions that totally blew my mind and I've seen the work actors have done with him over the years and I really admire him."
Later during the press conference, Gyllenhaal was asked whether she would ever consider directing her brother, actor Jake Gyllenhaal — who was present at the film's premiere later in the evening — to which she chuckled and said: "Yeah, that'd be great. I'd love that."
Gyllenhaal's "The Lost Daughter" is an adaptation of a best-selling novel by Italian author Elena Ferrante. Gyllenhaal adapted the novel herself, and Netflix announced at the beginning of August that it had acquired the rights to the film. Netflix gave "The Lost Daughter" a limited theatrical run from December 1 before making it available for streaming on December 31.
The film boasts an A-list cast, including Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson, and Paul Mescal.
In a review, Insider said the film is a "complex and accomplished" debut by Gyllenhaal who is a director of "great skill and wit."
You can read Insider's full review of "The Lost Daughter" here.