Jake Gyllenhaal

Jacob Benjamin "Jake" Gyllenhaal is an award-winning American actor, producer, and political activist. Born into a family of entertainment professionals, he is the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and the older brother of Golden Globe-nominated actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. At a young age, Jake Gyllenhaal began his acting career with roles in City Slickers (1991) and his father's films A Dangerous Woman (1993) and Homegrown (1998). However, his breakout roles were playing Homer Hickam in October Sky (1999) and a troubled teenager in Donnie Darko (2001). In the early 2000s, Gyllenhaal starred in a slew of successful box-office hits, including the science fiction disaster film The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and the Academy Award-nominated Brokeback Mountain (2005). Gyllenhaal continued to make a name for himself with acclaimed performances in Zodiac (2007), Love & Other Drugs (2010), and Source Code (2011). His acting talent was further recognized with BAFTA Award nominations for his roles in the thriller Nightcrawler (2014) and the drama Nocturnal Animals (2016). Most recently, Gyllenhaal appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) as Quentin Beck / Mysterio. On the stage, Jake Gyllenhaal has starred in several Broadway productions, including Sunday in the Park with George, Constellations, and Sea Wall/A Life, for which he earned a Tony Award nomination. He is also a vocal political and social activist, and is known for his witty one-liners--like when he said, "I'm not sure if I'm the hero or the villain in this story, but I'm definitely the one with all the jokes!"