The man is born into the prestigious Gyllenhaal family, and he is the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner. Jake started acting as a child, making his acting debut in City Slickers in the year 1991. This was followed by roles in his home productions. These were his father’s films, such as A Dangerous Woman in 1993) and Homegrown in 1998. Jake’s breakthrough role came soon. He portrayed Homer Hickam in October Sky in 1999. His next role was and has been touted as the greatest Gyllenhaal role ever. He played a psychologically-troubled teenager in Donnie Darko. It remains the best of Gyllenhaal. Jake next tried his hand at several comedies. He did the science fiction disaster film, The Day After Tomorrow and it shone at the box-office. Gyllenhaal played the character of Jack Twist in Ang Lee’s romance Brokeback Mountain in 2005). This was the second-best recognizable Gyllenhaal performance. This earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination and actually earned him the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Gyllenhaal did some fantastic dramas such as Jarhead and Proof. He also played the true-crime author Robert Graysmith in Zodiac. Jake portrayed Prince Dastan in the fantasy adventure Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. He paired with Anne Hathaway again in the romantic-comedy in Love & Other Drugs. Gyllenhaal’s other several acclaimed thrillers include Source Code, End of Watch, and Prisoners. The man stepped into producing and starring himself. He did Nightcrawler next which earned him a Best Actor nomination at the Golden Globes and British Academy Film Awards. Jake also starred in the psychological film Nocturnal Animals, followed by Stronger. In 2019, Jake did the Netflix film Velvet Buzzsaw and the Marvel Comics character Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home. With so many acting credits, it is a little too obvious that we shall do a profile on Jake. Here are his top-rated movies according to IMDb.
Source Code (7.5)
Source Code is a 2011 American science fiction action thriller film. Source Code is directed by Duncan Jones and written by Ben Ripley. The movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a U.S. Army captain. He is sent into a computed reality to locate a bomber. Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, and Jeffrey Wright play supporting roles. The elaborated cast roles are Jake Gyllenhaal as Captain Colter Stevens, Michelle Monaghan as Christina Warren, Vera Farmiga as Captain Colleen Goodwin, Jeffrey Wright as Dr. Rutledge, Michael Arden as Derek Frost, and Russell Peters as Max Denoff. The movie was a great hit, it earned $54.7 million in the United States and Canada and $92.6 million in other places of the world. Its total was $147.3 million. It was set against a production budget of $32 million.
Nocturnal Animals (7.5)
Nocturnal Animals is a 2016 American neo-noir psychological thriller film. The movie is written, produced, and directed by Tom Ford and it is his sophomore feature. Nocturnal Animals based on the 1993 novel Tony and Susan by the author Austin Wright. The star cast of the film includes Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Isla Fisher, Armie Hammer, Laura Linney, Andrea Riseborough, and Michael Sheen. The story is centered around an art gallery owner who reads a fresh novel written by her first husband. So, she begins to find out the similarities between the book and their former relationship. Nocturnal Animals earned Michael Shannon a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the 89th Academy Awards.
End Of Watch (7.6)
End of Watch is a 2012 American action thriller film. The movie is written and directed by David Ayer. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña as Brian Taylor and Mike Zavala respectively. They play two Los Angeles Police Department, officers. They work in close quarters at the South Los Angeles. End of Watch focuses on their day-to-day police work, how they deal with thugs and criminals, their trades with a certain group of gang members, and finally their friendship with each other, and their interpersonal relationships. At the beginning of the story, Brian Taylor and Mike Zavala are close friends and partners in the Newton Division of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in South Central Los Angeles. Taylor, who is a US Marine veteran is recording their police activities for a film project. End of Watch, the film received a number of accolades.
Spider-Man: Far From Home (7.6)
Spider–Man: Far From Home is a 2019 American superhero film. The film is based on the beloved Marvel Comics character named Spider-Man. It is co-produced by Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. Sony ran in a tiff with the previous Spider-Man actor, Andrew Garfield. Spider–Man: Far From Home is the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming of 2017 and the 23rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Far From Home is directed by Jon Watts, written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. It stars Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, alongside Samuel L. Jackson, Zendaya, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, J. B. Smoove, Jacob Batalon, Martin Starr, Marisa Tomei, and Jake Gyllenhaal. In the story, Parker is recruited by Nick Fury and Mysterio. He is soon in a face-off with the Elementals whilst still on a school trip to Europe.
Brokeback Mountain (7.7)
Brokeback Mountain is a 2005 American romantic drama film. The film is directed by Ang Lee and produced by Diana Ossana and James Schamus. The story of Brokeback Mountain is adapted from the 1997 short story of the same name by author Annie Proulx. The screenplay of this movie was written by Ossana and Larry McMurtry. Brokeback Mountain stars Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal in the leads. Anne Hathaway and Michelle Williams are their wives respectively. The story depicts the complicated emotional and sexual relationship between the two leads, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist in the American West from 1963 to 1983. Anne Hathaway’s role is rather shocking and horrific. Brokeback Mountain received critical acclaim, Lee’s direction, Ledger, Gyllenhaal, and Williams’s performances were praised a lot.
Zodiac (7.7)
Zodiac is a 2007 American mystery thriller film. The film is directed by David Fincher. Zodiac’s screenplay is by James Vanderbilt. It is based on the 1986 non-fiction book of the same name by author Robert Graysmith. Zodiac stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr. in the lead roles. The rest Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, Elias Koteas, Donal Logue, John Carroll Lynch, Candy Clark, Dermot Mulroney, and Chloë Sevigny in supporting roles. Zodiac, the movie tells the tale of the manhunt for the Zodiac Killer. He is a serial murderer who tortured the San Francisco Bay Area during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He taunted and mocked at the police with letters, bloodstained clothing, and ciphers mailed to newspapers.
October Sky (7.8)
October Sky is the title of the 1998 memoir upon which the film is based. The film is directed by Joe Johnston. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Chris Owen, and Laura Dern. October Sky is based on the real-life story of Homer H. Hickam, Jr., a coal miner’s son who inspired the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957. The story takes up rocketry against his father’s wishes and orders and eventually became a NASA engineer. October Sky is based on the lives of four young men who grew up in Coalwood, West Virginia. The elaborate cast roles are Jake Gyllenhaal as Homer Hickam, Chris Cooper as John Hickam, and Chris Owen as Quentin Wilson.
Nightcrawler (7.9)
Nightcrawler is a 2014 American thriller film. The film is written and directed by Dan Gilroy. Nightcrawler stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Louis “Lou” Bloom, he stars as a stringer, who is recording violent events late at night in Los Angeles, and sells the recorded footage to a local television news station. The rest of the castmates include Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed, and Bill Paxton. The biggest emerging theme in the film is the symbiotic relationship between unethical journalism and consumer demand. It has been reported that Gilroy originally wanted to make a film about the life of American photographer Weegee, but later the story got lost in translation. Nightcrawler was touted as one of the best films of 2014.
Donnie Darko (8.0)
Donnie Darko is a 2001 American science fiction psychological thriller film. The film is written and directed by Richard Kelly. Donnie Darko stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore in the lead roles. The rest of the cast includes Mary McDonnell, Katharine Ross, Patrick Swayze, Noah Wyle, Stu Stone, Daveigh Chase, and James Duval. Donnie Darko traces the adventures of the angsted titular character, Donnie. He seeks to find the hidden meaning behind his doomsday-related visions.
Prisoners (8.1)
Prisoners is a 2013 American thriller film. The film is directed by Denis Villeneuve and is based on a screenplay written by Aaron Guzikowski. Prisoners has a huge ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo, and Paul Dano. Prisoners serves as Villeneuve’s first English-language feature film. The story of this movie is centered around the abduction of two young girls in Pennsylvania. It leads to the subsequent hunt for these girls and suspected abductor by the police.
