Exclusive preview: Heath speaks

On Ang Lee’s reticence: The only words that do
escape his mouth are—usually, if not
always—about your character and the story and the
movie.

On his audition for the role of Ennis: I just sat
awkwardly in [producer] James Schamus’s living
room, sipping tea while Ang kind of sat there, looking
at me. James did most of the talking.

On his love scenes with Jake Gyllenhaal: We had
gotten ourselves into this story—we were
knee-deep into it—and so the only way out, we
figured, was to absolutely commit to it.

On deciding not to bulk up for the role: I think in
the end I just compensated with the strength I tried
to bring into his character rather than his body.