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
Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal (née Achs; born March 4, 1946) is an American screenwriter, director, and former wife of Stephen Gyllenhaal. She is the mother of actors Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal. Gyllenhaal was born in New York City, the daughter of doctors Ruth ("née" Silbowitz; 1920–1968) and Samuel Achs (1919–2014). Her parents were both of Jewish ancestry. Her aunt was Freda (Silbowitz) Hertz (1915–2013), a lawyer. She was raised in a family of "high-achieving New York Jews." Her grandparents immigrated from Eastern Europe (Russia and Poland). She attended Barnard College in New York City, graduating with a BA