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 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