Jake Gyllenhaal earned raves and an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of a ranch hand engaged in a clandestine same-sex affair in “Brokeback Mountain,” but he now says the movie “lives in its own space.”

“It was very successful in many different ways,” Gyllenhaal, 33, told host Ricky Camilleri of the 2005 film during an appearance on HuffPost Live this week. “It gave me the idea that movies can be important, that they do have some sort of political value.”

Recalling a recent run-in with “Brokeback” director Ang Lee, Gyllenhaal went on to describe the creative process behind “this little movie that we made with this master filmmaker…on a story that we all thought was really beautiful.”

“It’s an honor to be a part of [that movie] and it was the universe bringing it my way,” he said.

Gyllenhaal’s new movie, “Nightcrawler,” opened this weekend.