Jake Gyllenhaal In "Proof", featuring Gwyneth Paltrow and Anthony Hopkins, Gyllenhaal played a graduate student in mathematics who tries to convince Paltrow's character to publish a revolutionary proof to a problem puzzling the mathematicians' community. In "Jarhead", Gyllenhaal played a violent U.S. Marine during the first Gulf War. He also auditioned to be Batman for the blockbuster "Batman Begins" and came close to getting the role, but Christian Bale was ultimately chosen for it. In "Brokeback Mountain", Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger play young men who meet as sheep herders and embark upon a sexual relationship that begins in the summer of 1963
Jake Gyllenhaal rumors circulated regarding the actor's sexual orientation. When asked about such gossip during an interview, Gyllenhaal said: Gyllenhaal narrated the 2005 short animated film "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers", based on Mordicai Gerstein's book of the same name about Philippe Petit's famous stunt. In January 2007, as host of "Saturday Night Live", he put on a sparkly evening dress and sang "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from the musical "Dreamgirls" for his opening monologue, dedicating the song to his "unique fan base... the fans of "Brokeback"". In 2007, Gyllenhaal starred in David Fincher's mystery thriller