Search Results - Gyllenhaal, Jake 1980-

Jake Gyllenhaal

Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal ( , ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor who has worked on screen and stage for over thirty years. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of film director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and the younger brother of actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. He began acting as a child, making his debut in ''City Slickers'' (1991), followed by roles in his father's films ''A Dangerous Woman'' (1993) and ''Homegrown'' (1998). His breakthrough roles were as Homer Hickam in the biopic ''October Sky'' (1999) and a troubled teenager in the thriller ''Donnie Darko'' (2001). Gyllenhaal expanded to big-budget films with a starring role in the 2004 disaster film ''The Day After Tomorrow''.

Gyllenhaal played Jack Twist in Ang Lee's 2005 romantic drama ''Brokeback Mountain'', for which he won a BAFTA Award and was nominated for an Academy Award. His career progressed with starring roles in the thriller ''Zodiac'' (2007), the romantic comedy ''Love & Other Drugs'' (2010), and the science fiction film ''Source Code'' (2011). Further acclaim came with his roles in Denis Villeneuve's thrillers ''Prisoners'' (2013) and ''Enemy'' (2013), and he received nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performances as a manipulative journalist in ''Nightcrawler'' (2014) and a troubled writer in ''Nocturnal Animals'' (2016). His highest-grossing release came with the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film ''Spider-Man: Far From Home'' (2019), in which he portrayed Mysterio. After playing a supporting role in the drama ''Wildlife'' (2018), Gyllenhaal starred in action or thriller projects, including the films ''The Guilty'' (2021), ''Ambulance'' (2022) and ''Road House'' (2024), as well as the series ''Presumed Innocent'' (2024).

Gyllenhaal has performed on stage, starring in a West End production of the play ''This Is Our Youth'' (2002) and Broadway productions of the musical ''Sunday in the Park with George'' (2017) as well as the plays ''Constellations'' (2014) and ''Sea Wall/A Life'' (2019), the last of which earned him a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. Aside from acting, he is vocal about political and social issues. Provided by Wikipedia