Jake Gyllenhaal filmography character, a "sullen" and "schizophrenic" teenager, made him a cult hero. Although the film was critically acclaimed, it failed commercially. Gyllenhaal starred in the 2004 disaster film "The Day After Tomorrow", which, despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, was a commercial success at the box office. In 2005, he co-starred as Jack Twist opposite Heath Ledger in the romance drama "Brokeback Mountain". The actors portrayed two men that fall in love during a sheepherding expedition. The roles earned both Gyllenhaal and Ledger critical acclaim and Academy Award nominations. That same year, he starred in the drama films "Jarhead" and "Proof".
Jake Gyllenhaal well received by critics; Gary Mairs of Culture Vulture wrote that "Gyllenhaal manages the difficult trick of seeming both blandly normal and profoundly disturbed, often within the same scene." After the critical success of "Donnie Darko", Gyllenhaal's next role was as Pilot Kelston in 2002's "Highway" alongside Jared Leto. His performance was described by one critic as "silly, cliched and straight to video". Gyllenhaal had more success starring opposite Jennifer Aniston in "The Good Girl", which premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival; he also starred in "Lovely and Amazing" with Catherine Keener. In both films he plays an unstable