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[[caption-width-right:280:[[MyNaymeIs Good luck trying to spell his name without looking.]]]]
->''"Even as an actor, I think like a storyteller. My parents raised us to look at the script."''

Jacob Benjamin "Jake" Gyllenhaal (born December 19, 1980 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actor.

The son of director Creator/StephenGyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, he began acting [[FormerChildStar at the age of ten]]. Following his first lead role in ''Film/OctoberSky'', he starred in the indie CultClassic ''Film/DonnieDarko'', in which he played a psychologically troubled teenager alongside his older sister, Creator/{{Maggie|Gyllenhaal}}. In 2002, he starred in another indie film, ''Film/TheGoodGirl'', alongside Creator/JenniferAniston. In 2004, he appeared in the ScienceFiction film ''Film/TheDayAfterTomorrow'', portraying a student caught in a cataclysmic global cooling event.

Gyllenhaal then [[PlayingAgainstType played against type]] as a frustrated Marine in ''Film/{{Jarhead}}'' in 2005. The same year, his role as Jack Twist in ''Film/BrokebackMountain'' earned him critical acclaim, as well as the UsefulNotes/{{BAFTA}} Award for Best Supporting Actor and a further nomination for the UsefulNotes/AcademyAward in the same category. He has since played lead roles in many notable films, including ''Film/{{Zodiac|2007}}'', ''Film/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'', ''Film/LoveAndOtherDrugs'', ''Film/SourceCode'', and ''Film/EndOfWatch''.
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!! Selected filmography:
* ''Film/CitySlickers'' (1991) as Daniel Robbins
* ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'' (1994) as Matthew "Matt" Ellison
* ''Film/OctoberSky'' (1999) as Homer Hickam
* ''Film/BubbleBoy'' (2001) as Jimmy Livingston
* ''Film/DonnieDarko'' (2001) as Donnie Darko
* ''Film/TheGoodGirl'' (2002) as Thomas "Holden" Worther
* ''Film/TheDayAfterTomorrow'' (2004) as Sam Hall
* ''Film/BrokebackMountain'' (2005) as Jack Twist
* ''Film/{{Jarhead}}'' (2005) as Anthony "Swoff" Swofford
* ''Theatre/{{Proof}}'' (2005) as Harold "Hal" Dobbs
* ''Film/{{Zodiac|2007}}'' (2007) as Robert Graysmith
* ''Film/{{Brothers|2009}}'' (2009) as Tommy Cahill
* ''Film/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'' (2010) as Dastan
* ''Film/LoveAndOtherDrugs'' (2010) as Jamie Randall
* ''Film/SourceCode'' (2011) as Colter Stevens
* ''Film/EndOfWatch'' (2012) as Officer Taylor
* ''Film/{{Enemy}}'' (2013) as Adam Bell & Anthony Claire
* ''Film/{{Prisoners}}'' (2013) as Detective Loki
* ''Film/{{Nightcrawler}}'' (2014) as Louis "Lou" Bloom
* ''Film/{{Southpaw}}'' (2015) as Billy Hope
* ''Film/{{Everest|2015}}'' (2015) as Scott Fischer
* ''Film/NocturnalAnimals'' (2016) as Edward Sheffield & Tony Hastings
* ''Film/{{Life|2017}}'' (2017) as Dr. David Jordan
* ''Film/{{Okja}}'' (2017) as Dr. Johnny Wilcox
* ''Film/VelvetBuzzsaw'' (2019) as Morf Vandewalt
* ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'' (2019) as [[ComicBook/{{Mysterio}} Quentin Beck / Mysterio]]
* ''WesternAnimation/SpiritUntamed'' (2021) as James "Jim" Prescott
* ''Film/{{The Guilty|2021}}'' (2021) as Joe Baylor
* ''Film/{{Ambulance}}'' (2022) as Danny
* ''WesternAnimation/StrangeWorld'' (2022) as Searcher Clade
* ''Film/TheCovenant2023'' as John Kinley
* ''Film/{{Road House|2024}}'' (2024) as Dalton
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!! He provides examples of:
* DawsonCasting: Film/DonnieDarko was sixteen, and Jake was nineteen.
* DyeingForYourArt: Gained five pounds of muscle and got a high and tight haircut for ''{{Film/Jarhead}}''.
* EnforcedMethodActing: In order to understand the police training for ''Film/EndOfWatch'', he and the rest of the cast were all tased.
* FakeBrit: Combined with TheQueensLatin for quite a good attempt in ''Film/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime''. It runs in [[Series/TheHonourableWoman the family]] [[Creator/MaggieGyllenhaal it seems]].
* FanCommunityNickname: His fans refer to themselves as "Gyllenhaalics".
* MrFanservice: Tends to do {{shirtless scene}}s in his films.
* RealLifeRelative: He and his sister Maggie played siblings in ''Film/DonnieDarko''. Retroactively with Creator/PeterSarsgaard in ''Film/{{Jarhead}}'', as the latter married Maggie ''after'' they made the film, making him and Jake brother-in-laws.
* StarMakingRole: ''Film/DonnieDarko'''s cult appeal was his breakthrough role for most. If not that, then definitely ''Film/TheDayAfterTomorrow'' and ''{{Film/Jarhead}}''.
* ThoseTwoActors: Starred alongside Creator/ChrisCooper in ''October Sky'', ''Jarhead'', and ''Demolition''. He even refers to Cooper as [[TheMentor his mentor]].
* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** He was the first choice for Charlie Conway in ''Film/TheMightyDucks''. However, his parents forbade him to be in it as the film would have taken him out of town for two months (it was shot in Minnesota).
** He was really hoping to get the part of Christian in ''Film/MoulinRouge''. He went through months of auditions and was down to the final three, along with Creator/EwanMcGregor and Creator/HeathLedger. Ultimately, the part went to [=McGregor=].
** Auditioned for Frodo in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'', and didn't realize he needed an English accent at first. He heard back that his audition was apparently one of the worst.
** Was set to play ComicBook/SpiderMan in ''Film/SpiderMan2'' due to Creator/TobeyMaguire having injured his back while filming ''Film/{{Seabiscuit}}''. While Jake was preparing for the role, Tobey recovered in time to reprise his role.
** Auditioned for and was one of the top contenders for the role of [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} Batman/Bruce Wayne]] in ''Film/BatmanBegins'', and was also on the shortlist to play Harvey Dent in [[Film/TheDarkKnight its 2008 sequel]]. His [[Creator/MaggieGyllenhaal real-life sister]] ultimately played Bruce and Dent's love interest in the latter.
** Was, along with Creator/MattDamon, the studio's first choice for the role of Jake Sully in ''Film/{{Avatar}}'', but director Creator/JamesCameron chose to cast the then-unknown Creator/SamWorthington instead.
** He was cast as one of the Princes in ''Film/IntoTheWoods'', but dropped out to do ''Film/{{Nightcrawler}}'' instead.
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