Jake Gyllenhaal

Coat of arms of the noble house Gyllenhaal

Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal was born on December 19, 1980 in Los Angeles, California, the son of film producer and screenwriter Naomi Foner (née Achs) and film director Stephen Gyllenhaal.[4][5] Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, his older sister, appeared with him in the film Donnie Darko. Gyllenhaal's father, who was raised as a Swedenborgian, is of Swedish and English descent and is a descendant of the Swedish noble Gyllenhaal family.[6] Jake's last ancestor to be born in Sweden was his great-great-grandfather, Anders Leonard Gyllenhaal.[7][8] Jake's mother is Jewish[9][10][11][12] and was born in New York City to a Jewish family from Russia and Poland.[13][14] Gyllenhaal has said that he considers himself Jewish.[15][16] On his 13th birthday, Gyllenhaal performed a "barmitzvah-like act, without the typical trappings", volunteering at a homeless shelter because his parents wanted to give him a sense of gratitude for his privileged lifestyle.[17][18]

As a child, Gyllenhaal was regularly exposed to filmmaking due to his family's ties to the industry. He made his acting debut as Billy Crystal's son in the 1991 comedy City Slickers. His parents did not allow him to appear in The Mighty Ducks (1992) because it would have required him to leave home for two months.[5] In subsequent years, his parents allowed him to audition for roles but regularly forbade him to take them if he were chosen.[19] He was allowed to appear in his father's films several times. Gyllenhaal appeared in the 1993's A Dangerous Woman (along with sister Maggie), in "Bop Gun", a 1994 episode of Homicide: Life on the Street; and in the 1998 comedy Homegrown. Along with their mother, Jake and Maggie appeared in two episodes of Molto Mario, an Italian cooking show on the Food Network. Prior to his senior year in high school, the only other film not directed by his father, in which Gyllenhaal was allowed to perform, was the 1993 film Josh and S.A.M., a little-known children's adventure.[20]

His parents insisted that he have summer jobs to support himself, and he thus worked as a lifeguard and as a busboy at a restaurant operated by a family friend.[19] Gyllenhaal said his parents encouraged artistic expression: "I do have parents who constantly supported me in certain ways. In other ways, they were lacking. Definitely, it's in expression and creativity where my family has always been best at."[21] 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. Gyllenhaal dropped out after two years to concentrate on acting but has expressed intentions to eventually finish his degree.[5] Gyllenhaal's first lead role was in October Sky, Joe Johnston's 1999 adaptation of the Homer Hickam autobiography Rocket Boys, in which he portrayed a young man from West Virginia striving to win a science scholarship to avoid becoming a coal miner. The film was positively received and earned $32 million; it was described in the Sacramento News and Review as Gyllenhaal's "breakout performance".[20][22]

Donnie Darko, Gyllenhaal's second film, was not a box office success upon its initial 2001 release but eventually became a cult favorite.[23] Directed by Richard Kelly, the film is set in 1988 and stars Gyllenhaal as a troubled teenager who experiences visions of a 6-foot (1.8 m) tall rabbit named Frank who tells him that the world is coming to an end. Gyllenhaal's performance was well received by critics; Gary Mairs of Culture Vulture wrote that "Gyllenhaal manages the difficult trick of seeming both blandly normal and profoundly disturbed, often within the same scene."[24][25]

After the critical success of Donnie Darko, Gyllenhaal's next role was as Pilot Kelston in 2002's Highway alongside Jared Leto. His performance was described by one critic as "silly, cliched and straight to video".[26] Gyllenhaal had more success starring opposite Jennifer Aniston in The Good Girl, which premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival; he also starred in Lovely and Amazing with Catherine Keener.[27] In both films he plays an unstable character who begins a reckless affair with an older woman. Gyllenhaal later described these as "teenager in transition" roles.[28] Gyllenhaal later starred in the Touchstone Pictures romantic comedy Bubble Boy, which was loosely based on the story of David Vetter. The film portrays the title character's adventures as he pursues the love of his life before she marries the wrong man.[29] The film was panned by critics, with one calling it an "empty-headed, chaotic, utterly tasteless atrocity".[30]

Following Bubble Boy, Gyllenhaal starred opposite Dustin Hoffman, Susan Sarandon and Ellen Pompeo in Moonlight Mile (2002), as a young man coping with the death of his fiancée and the grief of her parents. The story, which received mixed reviews,[31] is loosely based on writer/director Brad Silberling's personal experiences following the murder of his girlfriend, Rebecca Schaeffer.[32] In his theatrical debut, Gyllenhaal starred on the London stage in Kenneth Lonergan's revival of This Is Our Youth at the Garrick Theatre in 2002.[33] Gyllenhaal said, "Every actor I look up to has done theatre work, so I knew I had to give it a try."[34] The play, which had been a critical sensation on Broadway, ran for eight weeks in London's West End. Gyllenhaal received favorable critical reviews and an Evening Standard Theatre Award in the category "Outstanding Newcomer".[35][36]

Gyllenhaal was almost cast as Spider-Man for 2004's Spider-Man 2, due to director Sam Raimi's concerns about original Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire's health.[37] Maguire recovered, however, and the sequel was shot without Gyllenhaal.[38] The two actors later starred in Brothers (2009) together, and resemble each other enough that Gyllenhaal jokingly complained about cab drivers often calling him "Spider-Man").[39] In 2003, he also auditioned for the role of Batman in the superhero film Batman Begins and came close being offered the part, but the role was given to Christian Bale.[40][41] Instead, Gyllenhaal appeared in the science fiction blockbuster The Day After Tomorrow in 2004, co-starring Dennis Quaid as his father.[5][42]

Gyllenhaal attending the premiere of Proof, 2005

In 2005, Gyllenhaal was cast in the drama Proof, with co-stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Anthony Hopkins, He played a graduate student in mathematics who tries to convince Paltrow's character to publish a revolutionary proof to a problem puzzling the mathematicians' community. The film received a generally positive response. He also starred in Sam Mendes' Jarhead, where Gyllenhaal played a violent U.S. Marine during the first Gulf War. The film garnered a favorable response; Stephen Hunter of The Washington Post praises Gyllenhaal's performance, writing, "He makes us see his character's intelligence", adding "he doesn't seem jealous of the camera's attention when it goes to others".[43]

In Brokeback Mountain (2005), Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger play young men who meet as sheep herders and embark upon a sexual relationship that begins in the summer of 1963 and lasts for 20 years.[44] The film was often referred to in the media with the shorthand phrase "the gay cowboy movie",[45] although there was differing opinion on the sexual orientation of the characters. The film won numerous accolades, including the Golden Lion prize at the Venice Film Festival.[46] The film won three Academy Awards, and earned Gyllenhaal a nomination for Best Supporting Actor, but lost to George Clooney for Syriana.[47] The film also won four Golden Globes, and four British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs), in which Gyllenhaal won for Best Supporting Actor.[48] He and Ledger won an MTV Movie Award for "Best Kiss" in 2006. Shortly after the 2006 Academy Awards, Gyllenhaal was invited to join the Academy in recognition of his acting career.[49]

Gyllenhaal expressed mixed feelings about the experience of being directed by Ang Lee in Brokeback Mountain but generally had more praise than criticism for his directing style. While complaining of the way Lee tended to disconnect from his actors once filming began, Gyllenhaal praised his encouraging direction of the actors and sensitive approach to the material.[50][51] At the Directors Guild of America Awards on January 28, 2006, Gyllenhaal also praised Lee for "his humbleness and his respect for everyone around him".[52] When asked about his kissing scenes with Ledger in Brokeback Mountain, Gyllenhaal said, "As an actor, I think we need to embrace the times we feel most uncomfortable."[53] When asked about the more intimate scenes with Ledger, Gyllenhaal likened them to "doing a sex scene with a woman I'm not particularly attracted to".[44] Following the release of Brokeback Mountain, rumors circulated regarding the actor's sexual orientation. When asked about such gossip during an interview, Gyllenhaal said:

You know it's flattering when there's a rumor that says I'm bisexual. It means I can play more kinds of roles. I'm open to whatever people want to call me. I've never really been attracted to men sexually, but I don't think I would be afraid of it if it happened.[54]

Gyllenhaal narrated the 2005 short animated film The Man Who Walked Between the Towers,[55] based on Mordicai Gerstein's book of the same name about Philippe Petit's famous stunt.[56] In January 2007, as host of Saturday Night Live, he put on a sparkly evening dress and sang "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from the musical Dreamgirls for his opening monologue,[57] dedicating the song to his "unique fan base... the fans of Brokeback".[58] Later, Gyllenhaal starred in David Fincher's mystery thriller Zodiac (2007), based on the Zodiac killer. He played Robert Graysmith, a San Francisco Chronicle political cartoonist.[59] In preparation for his role, Gyllenhaal met Graysmith, and videotaped him to study his mannerisms and behavior.[60] The film received a positive response; writing for The Sydney Morning Herald, Paul Byrnes opined the film "poignant, provocative and haunting", and called Gyllenhaal "terrific".[61] He next starred opposite Meryl Streep, Alan Arkin and Reese Witherspoon in 2007's Rendition, a Gavin Hood-directed political thriller about the U.S. policy of extraordinary rendition.[62] Although it garnered a mixed response, New York magazine's critic called Gyllenhaal "compelling ... he’s a reticent actor. But he builds that limitation into the character".[63] Two years later, he co-starred with Tobey Maguire and Natalie Portman in Jim Sheridan's Brothers, a 2009 remake of Susanne Bier's Danish film of the same name.[64] It was met with mixed reviews and moderate box office returns, but one critic thought Gyllenhaal and Maguire gave "honest performances".[65]

The following year, Gyllenhaal played the lead role in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, an adaptation of the video game of the same name, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and released by Disney. He starred opposite Anne Hathaway in the romantic-comedy Love & Other Drugs, released on November 24, 2010, which gained him a Golden Globe Award nomination.[66] The Guardian's Philip French welcomed Gyllenhaal's choice of an comic role, in contrast to his previous film roles, but thought the film "stumbles badly".[67] For his sole project in 2011, he portrayed Colter Stevens, a U.S. Army Aviation captain, in the 2011 time-travel thriller Source Code. Despite noting the film's unrealistic plot, Peter Howell of the Toronto Star praised the "fine" performances of the cast.[68]

Gyllenhaal at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival, 2012

In 2012, Gyllenhaal starred alongside Michael Peña in David Ayer's action thriller End of Watch, about two Los Angeles street cops. The film was released on September 21 and received positive reviews, with Roger Ebert saying that "End of Watch is one of the best police movies in recent years, a virtuoso fusion of performances and often startling action",[69] and Salon's Andrew O'Hehir stating that the film was "at least the best cop movie since James Gray's We Own the Night, and very likely since Antoine Fuqua's memorable Training Day (which, not coincidentally, was written by Ayer)".[70] To prepare for the role, Gyllenhaal took tactical training and participated in actual police drives with co-star Peña to help establish the language of the characters.[71] On December 19, 2011, he was announced as a jury member for the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival that was held in February 2012.[72]

2013 saw Gyllenhaal appear in two films directed by Denis Villeneuve, whom Gyllenhaal describes as "an older brother".[73] The first of films to be released, the thriller Prisoners, starred Gyllenhaal as a detective named Loki in search of the abductor of two young girls, one of which is fathered by Hugh Jackman's character. Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers praised Gyllenhaal's "exceptional" performance in the film.[74] In their second collaboration, Gyllenhaal starred in a dual role as a history teacher and his doppelgänger in the thriller Enemy.[75] In 2014, he produced and starred in the crime thriller Nightcrawler, earning him a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for his performance.[76] The film garnered an acclaimed response; Ben Sachs of Chicago Reader called Gyllenhaal's performance "attention-grabbing ... he creates a memorable screen presence".[77]

Gyllenhaal had four film releases in 2015. He starred in the comedy Accidental Love (formerly titled Nailed), which was filmed in South Carolina with Jessica Biel.[78] The film was critically panned by critics. Next, he starred in Antoine Fuqua's sports drama Southpaw,[79] which received generally a warm response. Writing for The Independent, Geoffrey Macnab opined his portrayal as a boxer "plausible", and complimented his "emotional vulnerability", despite an unoriginal plot.[80] Then he was cast in Baltasar Kormákur's Everest, based on the 1996 Mount Everest disaster,[81] where Gyllenhaal portrayed American mountaineer Scott Fischer. The film was a commercial success, grossing $203 million worldwide.[82] Finally, he appeared in Jean-Marc Vallée's comedy-drama Demolition, playing an investment banker Davis Mitchell, who rebuilds his life after losing his wife.[83] Although it garnered a mixed reception,The Village Voice critic praised his performance, writing, "He nails Davis’s boyish curiosity, the quiet, wide-eyed uncertainty of someone discovering the world for the first time."[84] That same year, he also served as a jury member for the main competition of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.[85][86]

In 2016, he starred in Tom Ford's neo-noir thriller Nocturnal Animals, based on the 1993 novel Tony and Susan by Austin Wright.[87] Gyllenhaal plays an estranged ex-husband and novelist. The film received mostly positive reviews; Justin Chang of Los Angeles Times praised Gyllenhaal's "rich" performance until it "overwhelms the picture".[88] In 2017, Gyllenhaal starred in the science fiction horror, Life, as astronaut David Jordan.[87] Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an approval rating of 67%, but the critic from Slant Magazine thought Gyllenhaal was "dead behind the eyes from his first scene".[89][90] Gyllenhaal also played a supporting role in the action-adventure film Okja (2017),[87] and starred in the drama Stronger (2017), based on Boston Marathon bombing survivor Jeff Bauman.[87] The Independent's critic gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, and complimented Gyllenhaal's versatility and "outstanding" portrayal of Bauman.[91]

In 2018, he co-starred in the drama Wildlife, opposite Carey Mulligan, in which he plays a father who temporarily abandons his family to take a dangerous job. It is based on the 1990 novel of the same name by Richard Ford. The film was well-received; Ella Kemp, writing for Sight & Sound magazine, praised the chemistry of the lead actors which "fizzes with an effortless dynamism".[92] He also had a role in the western drama The Sisters Brothers (2018).[87] In 2019, he reunited with his Nightcrawler director Dan Gilroy in Velvet Buzzsaw, in which he plays art critic Mort Vandewalt.[93] The film premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was distributed by Netflix. The film opened to mixed-to-positive reviews, although Variety's critic opined that Gyllenhaal is "relishing another of those cartoonishly camp performances".[94] Also in 2019, Gyllenhaal played comic book villain Mysterio / Quentin Beck in Spider-Man: Far From Home (sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming), set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[95] It was one of the highest-grossing films of 2019.[96]

On January 3, 2020, it was announced that he secured the rights to produce and star as Bruce Bechdel in a film version of the musical, Fun Home, which in turn is based on Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir of the same name.[97] Gyllenhaal was set to star as George Seurat in musical Sunday In The Park With George at the Savoy Theatre in London in 2020.[98] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the run was postponed to 2021.[99]

in 2012, Gyllenhaal made his Off-Broadway debut in Nick Payne's If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet at the Roundabout Theatre Company's Laura Pels Theatre.[100] Gyllenhaal debuted on Broadway in 2014 in Payne's Constellations at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre opposite Ruth Wilson, also in her Broadway debut.[101] Gyllenhaal joined John Mauceri and David Denby in Adam Gopnik's podium discussion in February 2016 at the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center about Leonard Bernstein's breakthrough conducting performance in Carnegie Hall on November 14, 1943; accompanied by Jeanine Tesori on piano, he sang "Maria" from West Side Story.[102]

In 2016, he appeared in four benefit concert performances of the Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine musical Sunday in the Park with George at the New York City Center on October 24–26. Annaleigh Ashford performed "Dot" and Zachary Levi was "Jules".[103][104] Starting in February 2017, Gyllenhaal and Ashford reprised their City Center performances on Broadway at the reopened Hudson Theatre.[105]

He was scheduled to appear in Lanford Wilson's Burn This on Broadway at the re-opened Hudson Theatre under the direction of Michael Mayer in 2017.[106] It was announced in October 2016 that the production has been postponed until the 2017–18 season, because of scheduling conflicts with Gyllenhaal.[107] However, in December 2017, a new production of Burn This was scheduled for 2019 with Adam Driver in the role of Pale. Gyllenhaal's production was reported to be "scuttled".[108]

He appears in Sea Wall / A Life, a double-bill of monologues, on Broadway at the Hudson Theatre, which opened on August 8, 2019. He performs in the section by Nick Payne, A Life, which concerns a man about to become a father. Sea Wall, by Simon Stephens, is performed by Tom Sturridge. Both pieces are directed by Carrie Cracknell.[109]

Gyllenhaal's sister, actress Maggie, is married to actor Peter Sarsgaard, Gyllenhaal's co-star in Jarhead and Rendition. In December 2006, Gyllenhaal and his sister escaped a fire that destroyed Manka's Inverness Lodge, a famed lodge and restaurant in Inverness, California, at which they were vacationing. The Gyllenhaals were among a dozen or so guests who fled after the fire, sparked by a falling tree, broke out at about 3 a.m. Co-owner and celebrity chef Daniel DeLong said the pair were supportive despite having to brave the wind and cold. "Jake was helping me pull things out of the fire" DeLong said.[110]

Gyllenhaal at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival, 2012

Gyllenhaal's niece, Ramona Sarsgaard, was born on October 3, 2006. Gyllenhaal has both literal godparents and what he describes as "celebrity godparents". The late actor and director Paul Newman was his godfather,[111] and actress Jamie Lee Curtis is his godmother.[5][111] Other godparents of unknown status include a gay couple[112][113] and cinematographer Robert Elswit.[114][115] Gyllenhaal is the godfather of Matilda Rose Ledger (born October 28, 2005), daughter of Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams, both of whom co-starred with him in Brokeback Mountain.[116]

Gyllenhaal dated actress Kirsten Dunst for nearly two years, starting in 2002.[117] He later dated his Rendition co-star Reese Witherspoon from about 2007 to 2009.[118][119][120][121] He dated singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from October 2010 until March 2011,[122][123][124] and model Alyssa Miller from July to December 2013.[125][126] Gyllenhaal has been dating French model Jeanne Cadieu since mid-2018.[127][128]

Gyllenhaal once filmed a commercial for Rock the Vote and, along with his sister, visited the University of Southern California to encourage students to vote during the 2004 U.S. election.[129] He also campaigned for Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry.[130] He has said, however, that "it frustrates me when actors talk politics; I'm political and I make choices in my movies that I think are political. I try and say things with what I do. Rightly or wrongly, young actors have all the power."[5] In an interview, he remarked that "it's a sad time when actors are politicians and politicians are actors".[131] In the 2018 midterm elections, Gyllenhaal endorsed Beto O'Rourke. His endorsement came in the form of a Facebook post that included a picture of him in a "BETO" shirt and lengthy caption that also endorsed Stacey Abrams, Andrew Gillum, Kyrsten Sinema, and Jacky Rosen in their respective Senate or gubernatorial elections.[132]

In 2003, Gyllenhaal participated in an advertising campaign by the American Civil Liberties Union.[133][134] He recycles regularly, and said in an interview that he spends $400 a year to have trees planted in a Mozambique forest, partly to promote the Future Forests program.[135][136] After filming The Day After Tomorrow, he flew to the Arctic to promote awareness of climate change.[137][138] Gyllenhaal is the Honorary Chair of the New Eyes for the Needy Advisory Board,[139] and has signed on to help the TV fundraiser Stand Up to Cancer.[140] Gyllenhaal is on the board of directors for the Anti-Recidivism Coalition and volunteered in California juvenile detention centers with Scott Budnick.[141]

In his spare time, Gyllenhaal enjoys woodworking and cooking.[142] When asked about being a Buddhist, he has said, "I am not a card-carrying Buddhist, but I do try to practice mindfulness" and that it is his goal to meditate every day.[143][144]