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 he portrayed a young man from West Virginia striving to win a science scholarship to avoid becoming a coal miner. The film earned $32 million and was described in the "Sacramento News and Review" as Gyllenhaal's "breakout performance". "Donnie Darko", Gyllenhaal's second film, was not a box office success upon its initial 2001 release but eventually became a cult favorite. Directed by Richard Kelly, the film is set in 1988 and stars Gyllenhaal as a troubled teenager who experiences visions of a tall rabbit named Frank who tells him that the world is coming to an end. Gyllenhaal's performance was