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
Jake Gyllenhaal by Denis Villeneuve in 2013 – Gyllenhaal described meeting Villeneuve "as if I'd met an older brother". The first of films to be released, the thriller "Prisoners", starred Gyllenhaal as a detective named Loki in search of the abductor of two young girls, one of which is fathered by Hugh Jackman's character. "Rolling Stone" critic Peter Travers praised Gyllenhaal's "exceptional" performance in the film. In their second collaboration, Gyllenhaal starred in a dual role as a history teacher and his doppelgänger in the thriller "Enemy". In 2014, he produced and starred in the crime thriller "Nightcrawler", receiving a Golden Globe