Jake Gyllenhaal Biography

Jake Gyllenhaal Jake Gyllenhaal is a successful and versatile actor famous for his Oscar-nominated performance in Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain. He has also launched a promising stage career and has attracted public attention with his several romantic entanglements.Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal was born on December 19, 1980, in Los Angeles. From the outset, he was destined to become involved in the performing arts. His father Stephen Gyllenhaal, a descendent of Swedish aristocrats, is a successful director, and his mother Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal is a screenwriter and producer. Jake Gyllenhaal's godmother is Jamie Lee Curtis. He has a sister, Maggie Gyllenhaal, who has also achieved acclaim in acting, starring in such films as Secretary, with James Spader; Adaptation, with Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep; and Mona Lisa Smile, with Julia Roberts and Julia Stiles. The two starred together in 1993's A Dangerous Woman, with Debra Winger, produced and directed by their parents, and later in Donnie Darko.Gyllenhaal's screen d but came in 1991 with City Slickers, alongside Billy Crystal and Jack Palance. He appeared in various TV shows as a child, and played Robin Williams's son in an episode of Homicide directed by his father.Later, Gyllenhaal attempted to turn his attention to getting a formal education, attending Columbia University to study eastern religions. The actor ultimately dropped out after two years to pursue further acting opportunities.In 1999 he appeared in October Sky with Chris Cooper and Laura Dern, but his big break came in 2001, when he won the title role in Donnie Darko, alongside Patrick Swayze and Drew Barrymore. His complex performance as a schizophrenic teenager won him an Independent Spirit award for Best Actor and gave him cult status, as well as launching him on the road to mainstream stardom.He went on to star opposite Jennifer Aniston in The Good Girl, and then in Lovely and Amazing with Catherine Keener. Less critically acclaimed but equally important to his career was his role as Dennis Quaid's son in eco-disaster movie The Day After Tomorrow.Gyllenhaal made his stage d but in London in 2002, in a production of Kenneth Lonergan's This is our Youth. The play ran for eight weeks and Gyllenhaal received considerable praise from critics, winning an Evening Standard Theatre Award for Outstanding Newcomer.While receiving critical and popular attention for his film and stage work, Gyllenhaal's private life was also attracting attention. He dated Rilo Kiley singer Jenny Lewis and subsequently had a two year relationship with actress Kirsten Dunst. His romance with Dunst led to him being considered for the role of Spiderman when Tobey MacGuire was injured. He has since been romantically linked with Natalie Portman and with Olympic medal winning snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler.In the fall of 2002, Gyllenhaal returned to screen acting to perform alongside Dustin Hoffman and Susan Sarandon in Moonlight Mile. He confounded critics by playing against his type as a thuggish marine in 2005's Jarhead, with Peter Sarsgaard and Jamie Foxx. In the same year Gyllenhaal rose to A-list status with his performance in gay cowboy movie Brokeback Mountain, opposite Heath Ledger. The film won multiple awards. Its stars became firm friends, and Gyllenhaal is the godfather of Ledger's daughter Matilda, whose mother is their co-star Michelle Williams. He also remains in close contact with Sarsgaard, who is engaged to his sister - the couple is expecting their first child in October.Gyllenhaal's next film, Zodiac, based on Robert Graysmith's novels about the real life serial killer, is due out next year. He is also rumored to be a front runner for the coveted title role in comic adaptation The Green Hornet.