Jake Gyllenhaal: A Biography

With the September 20, 2013, release of "Prisoners," fans are lining up to find out everything they can about one of the film's lead actors, Jake Gyllenhaal.

The American actor has roots that are firmly planted in the film industry. He was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. His parents are screenwriter Naomi Foner and film director Stephen Gyllenhaal. He went to elementary school with members of the mega-popular band Maroon 5 and graduated from a private high school, Harvard-Westlake, in 1998, where his classmates included Adya Field and Jason Segal.

Before finding success as an actor, Gyllenhaal worked several jobs, including as a bus boy at the restaurant of a family friend and as a lifeguard. In the latter job, he has been credited with rescuing a swimmer who had been stung by a jellyfish-and subsequently urinating on the stings to alleviate the swimmer's pain.

During childhood, Gyllenhaal was regularly exposed to film and landed his first role at the age of eleven, playing the son of Billy Crystal's character in the comedy "City Slickers" (1991). He was cast for a role in "The Mighty Ducks" the following year, but his parents would not allow him to accept it, because he would have been required to be away from home for a couple of months.

In 1993, Gyllenhaal appeared in "A Dangerous Woman" along with his sister Maggie. His career slowed for a bit during high school, largely because of his parents' objections whenever he'd land a role. It wasn't until he landed a leading role in "October Sky" in 1999 that he saw a glimmer of the success that would become his future. The film is an adaptation of Rocket Boys, the autobiography of Homer Hickam. The role is generally regarded as Gyllenhaal's breakout performance.

Following the success of that movie, he went on to land his second major role as the lead character in "Donnie Darko." Although "Donnie Darko" was not initially popular at the box office, it won over a select audience and developed a cult-like following that would gain Gyllenhaal a legion of dedicated fans.

He would go on to star in several films with limited acclaim, including "Bubble Boy" (2001), "Highway" (2002), and "The Good Girl" (2002), a film that pitted him in the lead opposite mega-star Jennifer Aniston. He starred alongside Ellen Pompeo, Susan Sarandon, and Dustin Hoffman in "Moonlight Mile" (2002), a movie based loosely on the experience of director/writer Brad Silberling in the wake of the homicide of his girlfriend Rebecca Schaeffer.

It was around that time that Gyllenhaal almost landed the role of Spider-Man in the film "Spider-Man 2" (2004) because of mounting worries about the health of the lead star Tobey Maguire. The deal fell through, however, when Maguire recovered. Gyllenhaal eventually starred alongside Toby Maguire in "Brothers" (2009).

His next roles molded him into the actor who is now beloved around the world. In "The Day After Tomorrow" (2004), he played alongside Dennis Quaid as a survivor of a post-apocalyptic world. In 2005, he starred in some of his most critically acclaimed films, including "Proof," "Jarhead," and "Brokeback Mountain." His performance in the latter film as a homosexual sheep herder and lover of Heath Ledger's character earned him an Academy Award nod for Best Supporting Actor. He won Best Supporting Actor in the BAFTA awards for the role and shared the award with Ledger for Best Kiss in a movie in 2006 at the MTV Movie Awards.

Gyllenhaal delighted fans the following year in David Fincher's "Zodiac," a film based loosely on a true story. In the movie, he plays Robert Graysmith, an author who has written extensively about the Zodiac killer. Also, in 2007, Gyllenhaal starred with Reese Witherspoon and Meryl Streep in "Rendition."

In 2009, he filmed "Brothers," a Jim Sheridan remake of a 2004 Danish language film by Susanne Bier. In 2010, he played the lead character in the video-game-comes-to-life "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," a Disney film that was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and that garnered a huge following. He won a Golden Globe nomination for his role in 2010's "Love and Other Drugs."

"People Magazine" named Gyllenhaal one of its 50 Most Beautiful People in 2006, but so far he remains single. He has dated actresses Reese Witherspoon and Kirsten Dunst and singer Taylor Swift. He is currently dating Alyssa Miller, a model. In his spare time, he likes to cook and do woodworking. He is a spokesperson for Stand Up To Cancer.