‘Presumed Innocent’ Creator David E. Kelley on Why Jake Gyllenhaal Was the Actor to Play Rusty Sabich

Image from The Hollywood Reporter

• Kelley deliberately wanted to dive deeper into the book's character of Barbara, played by Ruth Negga, making her the emotional center of the adaptation rather than a mystery figure.
• Gyllenhaal's ability to be both intense and inscrutable made him Kelley's first choice to embody the complex and morally ambiguous prosecutor Rusty Sabich, a role the actor has never played before on TV.