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His breakthrough roles were as Homer Hickam in the biographical drama film October Sky (1999) and as a psychologically troubled teenager in the thriller film Donnie Darko (2001). Gyllenhaal expanded to big-budget films with a starring role in the 2004 disaster film The Day After Tomorrow.
- Overview
- Early life and career
- Films: Donnie Darko, Brokeback Mountain, and Zodiac
- Stage work
Jake Gyllenhaal (born December 19, 1980, Los Angeles, California, U.S.) American actor known for the intensity and commitment he brings to his portrayals of a diverse range of characters. His notable films include Donnie Darko (2001), Brokeback Mountain (2005), and Zodiac (2007).
Gyllenhaal is the youngest of two children born to Naomi Foner, a Golden Globe-winning screenwriter, and Stephen Gyllenhaal, a director. His sister, Maggie Gyllenhaal, became a noted actress and director. Their parents’ work afforded the siblings proximity to the film industry, and Jake Gyllenhaal began working at a young age. In 1991 he made his feature film debut, appearing as the son of Billy Crystal’s character in the comedy City Slickers.
Gyllenhaal continued to act, though most of his movies were directed by his father. These included A Dangerous Woman (1993), a romantic drama cowritten by Foner, and Homegrown (1998). In 1994 Gyllenhaal appeared in an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street that was directed by his father. After graduating from Harvard-Westlake School in 1998, Gyllenhaal attended Columbia University for two years before dropping out to pursue acting.
Gyllenhaal’s first leading role was in the feel-good biopic October Sky (1999). He gave a breakout performance as Homer Hickam, who overcomes poverty to became an engineer at NASA. Gyllenhaal’s next film was Donnie Darko (2001), in which he played a teenager who sees visions of a human-sized talking rabbit that warns him of a coming apocalypse. Maggie Gyllenhaal also appeared in the movie. Though Donnie Darko was not initially a commercial success, it eventually developed a cult following. His other credits from 2001 include the comedy Bubble Boy.
Gyllenhaal later starred with Jennifer Aniston in The Good Girl (2002), playing a store clerk who has an affair with a married coworker. In 2004 he appeared in the disaster film The Day After Tomorrow as the son of Dennis Quaid’s character. Though the movie received only tepid reviews, it was a box-office hit. Gyllenhaal was especially busy in 2005. His credits from that year include Jarhead, about U.S. Marines serving in the Persian Gulf War, and Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain. The latter became a media sensation with its candid portrayal of the clandestine gay romance between Gyllenhaal’s character and another cowboy, played by Heath Ledger. The film, adapted from a short story by Annie Proulx, earned rave reviews, and Gyllenhaal was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actor.
In 2007 Gyllenhaal starred with Robert Downey, Jr., and Mark Ruffalo in David Fincher’s Zodiac. In the acclaimed drama, the three actors played characters obsessed with finding the Zodiac killer, who committed a string of murders in California. Gyllenhaal’s other credits from 2007 include Rendition, in which he portrayed a CIA analyst who begins to question the brutal interrogation of a suspected terrorist. In 2010 he shifted gears with the action-adventure film Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Though it was expected to launch a franchise, the film was a box-office disappointment.
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Better received was Source Code (2011), an innovative thriller about the use of an experimental machine to prevent a terrorist attack. After portraying a police office in the action movie End of Watch (2012), Gyllenhaal was cast as a detective in Denis Villeneuve’s acclaimed Prisoners (2013), about the search for two missing girls. Continuing to show his versatility, Gyllenhaal played a troubled news cameraman searching for gruesome stories in Nightcrawler (2014). His films from 2015 include Southpaw, in which he played a boxer, and Everest, about a doomed expedition on the legendary mountain.
Gyllenhaal often acted on the stage. In 2002 he made his debut on London’s West End, starring in Kenneth Lonergan’s This Is Our Youth. During the show’s eight-week run, Gyllenhaal received largely positive reviews. In 2015 he appeared in his first Broadway production, Constellations. Gyllenhaal later acted in a revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday ...
Aug 15, 2023 · Q: How did Jake Gyllenhaal start his acting career? A: Gyllenhaal made his acting debut in the film “City Slickers” back in 1991. However, he gained widespread recognition for his role in the critically acclaimed film “Donnie Darko” in 2001.
Apr 2, 2014 · Born on December 19, 1980, in Los Angeles, California, Jake Gyllenhaal worked as a child actor in films like City Slickers and A Dangerous Woman before starring in the indie classic Donnie...
Jun 4, 2024 · Jake Gyllenhaal is an American actor known for his critically acclaimed role in the epic movie ‘Brokeback Mountain’. This biography provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.
Dec 19, 2020 · In an interview with The Guardian, Gyllenhaal recalls director Steven Soderbergh renting a room above their garage before he became famous. Other interesting stories about early encounters with famous people in film include Paul Newman taking him to the race track and teaching him driving safety.
Gyllenhaal graduated from the Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles in 1998, then attended Columbia University, where his sister was a senior and from which his mother had graduated, to study Eastern religions and philosophy. At Columbia, he was a resident of John Jay Hall.
