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 Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal (; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor. A member of the Gyllenhaal family and the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Gyllenhaal began acting as a child with a screen debut in "City Slickers" (1991), followed by roles in "A Dangerous Woman" (1993) and "Homegrown" (1998). His breakthrough performance was as Homer Hickam in "October Sky" (1999) and he garnered an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Male Lead for playing the title character in the indie cult hit "Donnie Darko" (2001), in which he played a psychologically troubled teenager