Jake Gyllenhaal (who has dated the likes of Taylor Swift and Reese Witherspoon) talks about his romantic life as he poses for Vogue with on-stage lover Ruth Wilson

Jake Gyllenhaal is starring in Constellations, a Broadway play that draws attention to the infinite possibilities the course of one's life could take, particularly when it comes to love.

And the subject matter inspired the 33-year-old actor to reflect upon his own romantic life as he posed for the January issue of Vogue with his on-stage lover, Ruth Wilson.

'It makes me think of all the permutations of relationships,' the Nightcrawler star said.

Taking a trip down memory lane: Constellations star Jake Gyllenhaal reflects upon his romantic life as he poses for the January issue of Vogue with his on-stage lover, Ruth Wilson

'Times when I've approached somebody and they haven't been interested, or someone’s approached me and I haven’t been interested, or maybe things felt really, really right but it still didn't work out—every incarnation possible. We've all had those moments.'

His past significant others likely came to mind. Jake broke up with his girlfriend of six months, model Alyssa Miller, before the holidays in 2013.

Prior to that, he was romantically linked to Taylor Swift for a few months beginning from October 2010 to January 2011.

The hunky actor also dated Reese Witherspoon from 2007 to 2009 and Kirsten Dunst from 2002 to 2004. 

Coming soon! Vogue's January issue, which features Sienna Miller on the cover, hits stands on December 17

Stars arrive at Nightcrawler premiere in New York (related)

In Constellations, Jake plays a beekeeper named Roland who romances Ruth’s character, Marianne, a physicist specializing in theoretical cosmology.

'This spellbinding, romantic journey begins with a simple encounter between a man and a woman (Gyllenhaal and Wilson),’ according to the official synopsis.

‘But what happens next defies the boundaries of the world we think we know - delving into the infinite possibilities of their relationship and raising questions about the difference between choice and destiny.’

The play shows five or six variations of each encounter between Roland and Marianne, each with a different outcome.

This was inspired by playwright Nick Payne’s fascination with the multiverse theory, which posits that ‘there exist a vast number of parallel universes in which we’re living out different versions of our lives based on our having made different choices, large and small, along the way.’

Hard at work: Jake, 33, and Ruth, 32, were seen leaving a rehearsal studio in NYC last Friday 

Jake shared what fascinated him about the story.

‘I think the thing that makes it challenging, and ultimately why I wanted to do it is that it feels as if underneath the words is—forgive the pun—a universe of choices,’ he said.

‘And there will never be a night when those choices will be the same. Even in the past two days, we’ve interpreted certain scenes at least five ways.’

‘That’s the genius of it,’ Ruth, 32, chimed in. ‘It’s a huge, universal theme, but told through a love story.

‘It makes your mind spin with ideas and thoughts about all the options available to you, but also about how fate plays a role—maybe you don’t actually have any free will at all.’

Jake admitted to feeling less than confident about executing the material.

 

Check it out! Constellations began its previews on December 16 and the show officially opens January 13 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in New York

‘And the type of work we know we have to do is a little terrifying for both of us—or maybe I should just speak for myself,’ he said.

‘No, no,’ Ruth said. ‘You can speak for me.’

To prepare for their roles, Jake has been reading up on beekeeping while Ruth has been watching cosmology documentaries and visiting a planetarium.

Meanwhile, the show’s mastermind, Payne, realized his obsession with infinite universes stemmed from the recent loss of his father.

‘I quite romantically loved the idea that there might be another universe where my father’s still alive and we’re both perfectly fine and really happy,’ he said.

‘The concept of a multiverse is a wondrous thing, but it’s also weirdly cruel because I’ll never get to experience those other universes, will I? I’m stuck in this universe—without him.’ 

Constellations began its previews on December 16 and the show officially opens January 13 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in New York. 

Vogue's January issue, which features Sienna Miller on the cover, hits stands on December 17.