Jake Gyllenhaal Dennis Quaid as his father. In his theatrical debut, Gyllenhaal starred on the London stage in Kenneth Lonergan's revival of "This Is Our Youth" at the Garrick Theatre in 2002. Gyllenhaal said, "Every actor I look up to has done theatre work, so I knew I had to give it a try." The play, which had been a critical sensation on Broadway, ran for eight weeks in London's West End. Gyllenhaal received favorable critical reviews and an Evening Standard Theatre Award in the category "Outstanding Newcomer". In 2005, Gyllenhaal starred in the critically praised films "Proof", "Jarhead", and "Brokeback Mountain".
Jake Gyllenhaal death of his fiancée and the grief of her parents. The story, which received mixed reviews, is loosely based on writer/director Brad Silberling's personal experiences following the murder of his girlfriend, Rebecca Schaeffer. Gyllenhaal was almost cast as Spider-Man for "Spider-Man 2" due to director Sam Raimi's concerns about original "Spider-Man" star Tobey Maguire's health. Maguire recovered, however, and the sequel was shot without Gyllenhaal. (The actors—who later played brothers in "Brothers"—resemble each other enough that Gyllenhaal has jokingly complained about cab drivers often calling him "Spider-Man".) Instead, Gyllenhaal starred in the blockbuster "The Day After Tomorrow" in 2004, co-starring