Photo: Toglenn / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Jake Gyllenhaal fascinates me because he keeps refusing the easy version of his own career. Born into Hollywood royalty, blessed with leading-man looks and a Columbia education, he could have coasted on charm for decades. Instead he picks roles that scrape against his image, playing obsessive, wounded, sometimes repellent characters. The BAFTA he won for Brokeback Mountain feels less like a peak than a starting gun; everything since has been an actor deliberately making himself uncomfortable. I admire performers who treat their bodies and reputations as raw material. Gyllenhaal does exactly that, and it is why I will watch anything with his name attached.
Overview
Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal ( JIL-ən-hawl, Swedish: [ˈjʏ̂lːɛnˌhɑːl]; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor whose career on screen and stage has spanned more than three decades. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of film director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and the younger brother of actress Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Jake Gyllenhaal
- Name (Japanese)
- ジェイク・ジレンホール
- Reading
- じぇいく・じれんほーる
- Born
- December 19, 1980 (age 45)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Sagittarius / Monkey
- Origin
- Los Angeles, California, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- 182 cm
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- film actor / stage actor / television actor / voice actor / executive producer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Columbia University
Awards & achievements
- 2005 BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Film actor — see all → · Stage actor — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.