Real-life brothers-in-law Jake Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard are adversaries in 'Presumed Innocent'

Sometimes, while filming an intense courtroom scene for his new series, Jake Gyllenhaal would catch his Presumed Innocent co-star Peter Sarsgaard looking at him from across the room.

It was just funny, Gyllenhaal recalled in a recent interview alongside Sarsgaard, doing a quick impression of Sarsgaard's look.

It's like, OK, OK, Gyllenhaal joked as if to say tone it down,' as Sarsgaard snickered at the comment.

The two rub shoulders like family because they are family. Sarsgaard is married to Gyllenhaal's older sister, actor and director Maggie Gyllenhaal.

This isn't the first time Gyllenhaal and Sarsgaard have acted together either. They also performed in Jarhead from 2005 and Render of 2007. But Presumed innocent is their first series together (and Gyllenhaal's first TV show) and marks the first time they have played adversaries.

Premiering Wednesday on Apple TV+, Presumed Innocent is based on the legal thriller novel by Scott Turow which was originally adapted as a 1990 film starring Harrison Ford.

Here, Gyllenhaal plays Chicago prosecutor Rusty Sabich, accused of murdering his colleague, a charge that has fractured the DA's office. Sarsgaard is attorney Tommy Molto, another colleague determined to prove Sabich guilty. Meanwhile, Sabich's marriage to Barbara (Ruth Negga) collapses under the weight of the accusation and the possibility that he could be found guilty.

The first scripts did not pit Sabich and Molto as antagonistically, but the creator and showrunner David E. Kelley took note of Gyllenhaal and Sarsgaard's chemistry and pivoted.

It's kind of like a football quarterback coming to the line at a certain point and looking at what you have in front of you … and seeing where the opportunities are, Kelley said.

OT Fagbenle, who plays lawyer Nico Della Guardia, also enjoyed watching the two train.

I am ignorant. “I only found out on set that they were related,” Fagbenle said. They got along really well, obviously, but they really had a kind of brotherly argument, you know, roughness. Not physical but rather verbal. And so when I saw them, I was like, Oh, wow, there's such history between you two.

Gyllenhaal agrees that shared history is what allows them to push each other when necessary.

I love him so deeply, which also comes with all the complications, Gyllenhaal said. We've been through so much together and so we can bring those things out into the fictional world.

The brothers-in-law acknowledged that their emotionally charged scenes could be a spectacle, like when Sarsgaard's character grills Gyllenhaal's during cross-examination.

Everyone is excited, Gyllenhaal said. Like, what is Peter going to do today?

They also have the comfort and confidence to give each other notes on what to play, what to recall, or perhaps interpret differently.

Jake will say, I see what you meant, but I don't think that's actually what you mean, Sarsgaard said. “He’s someone who really, really listens to you. Even if you have a great director, that doesn't sound like someone who really knows you and sees you as an artist. This family therefore has a very special bond. We were very good at observing each other.

Shooting a series for the first time, Gyllenhaal said, was a fascinating process, one I've never had and one you don't have on film, he said. Having new scripts to memorize meant his acting muscles and tools were constantly being used.

You go from scene to scene to scene and it's pretty cool actually, once you get into the rhythm, Sarsgaard added. I have more problems with big films where you have hours between settings to do a close-up, and in a few more hours you're going to do the wide shot; I have forgotten everything. I have no idea what's going on.

The actors were also unsure whether or not Gyllenhaal's character was guilty during filming.

I wanted to know, but it was being written as it went along, Gyllenhaal said, comparing it to how audiences wait for the verdict in a trial in real life.

The courtroom scenes gave different actors the opportunity to shine, giving everyone the chance to deliver a great speech.

Everyone has had a day where they did it, or a few days where it was their time, Sarsgaard said. There’s something as a performer that comes alive when it’s your moment and it’s a great feeling. It's a kind of recharge in the middle of filming lots of other things.

It's fun to give each character a moment, added Kelley, who attended law school in the early '80s. He put tuition money to good use over the years, writing a a number of hit law-centered shows, including Ally McBeal, Boston Legal, The practice And Lawyer Lincoln.

He had actually practiced law until he got a position with LA Law, which debuted in 1986.

They were looking for lawyers who would write, he said. Now I go to ChatGPT for my right. It's like when I started, I was pretty confident that I knew the lay of the land. Today I will seek legal advice from anyone because I forgot what the rules are. It's not that the rules have changed that much. I really had forgotten, he said, adding that I would never hire myself as a lawyer. So if you're looking, don't do that.

Source: job