Jake Gyllenhaal: Biography, Facts and Career

Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal ( JIL-ən-hawl, Swedish: [ˈjʏ̂lːɛnˌhɑːl]; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor whose career on screen and stage has spanned more than three decades. 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. Gyllenhaal 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 came as Homer Hickam in the biopic October Sky (1999) and as a troubled teenager in the thriller Donnie Darko (2001). For his portrayal of Jack Twist in Ang Lee's romantic drama Brokeback Mountain (2005), he won the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor and received Academy Award and Actor Award nominations in the same category. He earned further acclaim for his lead performances in Jarhead (2005), Zodiac (2007), Love & Other Drugs (2010), End of Watch (2012), Prisoners (2013), Nightcrawler (2014), Southpaw (2015), Nocturnal Animals (2016), Stronger (2017), and Wildlife (2018). Gyllenhaal achieved commercial success by starring in blockbusters such as The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010), Source Code (2011), Everest (2015), and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019); the latter emerged as his highest grossing release. He has since starred in various action and 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.

Quick facts about Jake Gyllenhaal

• Full name: Jake Gyllenhaal
• Born: 1980-12-19
• Nationality: United States
• Known as: Actor
• Wikidata ID: Q133313

Profile compiled from public Wikipedia and Wikidata data. Details can change over time.