Jake Gyllenhaal surprised fellow nominee Owen Cooper during an interview ahead of the 77th Emmy Awards, leaving the young Adolescence star momentarily speechless.
Cooper, the youngest-ever nominee in the limited series supporting actor category, had been discussing Gyllenhaal during a filmed interview when his acting hero walked in unannounced.
Asked moments earlier how he would react if they met, Cooper said: “I don’t know. I’ll just stare at him. I don’t really know.”
The pair hugged, and Gyllenhaal gave Cooper a small gift — a “lucky duck”.
Jake Gyllenhaal surprises Adolesence's Owen Cooper before the Emmys 😭 pic.twitter.com/qKEwi1iD80
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“I made this movie [Brokeback Mountain], and I got nominated for an Academy Award, and a friend of mine sent me this before. Something just like this,” he said.
“It’s just a ‘Lucky Duck’ to keep in your pocket. To give you a little bit of luck.”
Cooper has made no secret of his admiration for Gyllenhaal, telling Jimmy Kimmel Live! he would “talk his ear off all night” if given the chance at the awards ceremony.
While Cooper earned his nomination for his role in the British Netflix drama Adolescence, Gyllenhaal is shortlisted in the same category for the Apple TV+ legal thriller Presumed Innocent.
“I just came by because he’s just been talking about me too much, so I just figured I’d stop it, I’d stop it and get it done,” Gyllenhaal added as the pair took pictures and chatted.
Hollywood stars began arriving at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles for the ceremony on Sunday night, which US comedian Nate Bargatze is hosting.
Leading contenders include dark comedy Severance, which has 27 nominations; crime drama mini-series The Penguin, with 24; and British coming-of-age drama Adolescence, which has received 13.
Adolescence, which dominated Netflix’s most-watched list earlier this year, centres on the story of a 13-year-old boy arrested for the murder of a classmate.
Each episode was filmed in one continuous take.
