Jake Gyllenhaal has both literal godparents and what he describes as "celebrity godparents". The late actor and director Paul Newman was his celebrity godfather, and actress Jamie Lee Curtis was both his literal and celebrity godmother. Other godparents of unknown status include a gay couple and cinematographer Robert Elswit. Gyllenhaal himself is the godfather of Matilda Rose Ledger (born October 28, 2005), daughter of Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams, both of whom co-starred with him in "Brokeback Mountain". Gyllenhaal dated actress Kirsten Dunst for nearly two years, starting in 2002. He later dated his "Rendition" co-star Reese Witherspoon from about 2007 to
Heath Ledger embodying different aspects of the life of Bob Dylan in the 2007 film "I'm Not There", directed by Todd Haynes, Ledger "won praise for his portrayal of 'Robbie [Clark],' a moody, counter-culture actor who represents the romanticist side of Dylan, but says accolades are never his motivation". Posthumously, on 23 February 2008, he shared the 2007 Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award with the rest of the film's ensemble cast, its director, and its casting director. In his penultimate film performance, Ledger played the Joker in Christopher Nolan's 2008 film "The Dark Knight", which was released nearly six months after his