Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal is an American actor who has appeared in both independent cinema productions and mainstream Hollywood films. He has an extensive filmography with roles across a wide range of genres. He was born on December 19, 1980, in Los Angeles, California, to director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter/producer Naomi Foner.

^{Jake Gyllenhaal - Zodiac (}IMDb⁾

Gyllenhaal grew up in a family active in the film industry. He is the brother of actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. He made his cinematic debut at age eleven portraying the character Danny Robbins in City Slickers (1991). His family did not permit him to work extensively during his childhood.

After completing his primary education in Los Angeles, Gyllenhaal graduated from Harvard-Westlake School in 1998.

Gyllenhaal gained recognition in the late 1990s and early 2000s with roles in October Sky (1999) and the independent film Donnie Darko (2001). He began his theater career with the play This Is Our Youth, staged in London’s West End. In the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain, he portrayed the character Jack Twist. Throughout his career, Gyllenhaal has won 37 awards and received 116 award nominations for his work as an actor and producer.^【1】

He collaborated with director David Fincher on Zodiac (2007) and with Denis Villeneuve on Prisoners (2013). He underwent physical transformations for his roles in Nightcrawler (2014) and Southpaw (2015). In addition to acting, he produces films through Nine Stories Productions, a company he co-founded with Riva Marker. Through this company, he produced the films Stronger and Wildlife. He starred in the television series Presumed Innocent (2024) and appeared in the films In the Grey (2026) and Gelin! (2026).

Some of the most notable film awards Gyllenhaal has won during his career include:^【2】:

• BAFTA Awards (2006): Best Supporting Actor for his role in Brokeback Mountain.
• Independent Spirit Awards (2015): Best First Feature as producer of Nightcrawler.
• Hollywood Film Awards (2013): Supporting Actor of the Year for his performance in Prisoners.
• National Board of Review (2013): Best Cast for his performance in Prisoners.

In 2015, Gyllenhaal served as a member of the main competition jury at the Cannes Film Festival. At age thirteen, he volunteered at a homeless shelter. In later stages of his career, he publicly opposed political efforts to reduce public funding for the arts and advocated for sustained support for artistic endeavors. According to platform data, films such as Donnie Darko, Zodiac and Prisoners have high average viewer ratings.^【3】

^{Jake Gyllenhaal - Prisoners (2013) (}IMDb⁾

Outside his professional life, Gyllenhaal engages in various physical and mental activities. In his free time, he dedicates himself to cooking, woodcutting, and carpentry, and practices meditation. He is also interested in music and plays piano and guitar. He values the privacy of his personal life and avoids sharing details about it with the media.

His godparents are the renowned actors Paul Newman and Jamie Lee Curtis. Gyllenhaal himself is the godfather of Matilda Rose Ledger, the daughter of the late Heath Ledger, his co-star in Brokeback Mountain, and Michelle Williams.