Jake Gyllenhaal

2005 was a very prolific year for Jake Gyllenhaal, with the actor starring in Proof, Jarhead, and Brokeback Mountain -- all three becoming critically-praised fims. In Proof, featuring Gwyneth Paltrow and Anthony Hopkins, Gyllenhaal plays a math major who tries to convince Paltrow's character to publish a solution to a problem puzzling the mathematical community.
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In Jarhead, Gyllenhaal played against his previous roles—where he was often a sensitive but slightly disturbed young man—by displaying an aggressive masculinity as a violent US Marine during the first Gulf War. The public reaction to this film was muted due to Gyllenhaal's simultaneous appearance in Brokeback Mountain. Sam Mendes, who directed Jarhead, said, "He entered at a young age, and he's a good-looking boy, and he's got showbiz family and all that kind of stuff, and he's come up sensing that that was always where he was going to go. But he felt, on some level, that he hadn't earned it. And he wanted to earn it. He wanted to work, and he wanted to explore himself. And I couldn't be more excited about the performance he gives".
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Brokeback Mountain, which starred Gyllenhaal, after overcoming initial reluctance and Heath Ledger as two sheep herders who secretly fall in love in the 1960s, won the Golden Lion prize at the Venice Film Festival. The film went on to win four Golden Globe Awards, four BAFTA Awards, and three Academy Awards. Gyllenhaal was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Supporting Actor for his performance, but lost to George Clooney. Gyllenhaal also won the Best Supporting Actor BAFTA for the same role and received a Best Supporting Actor nomination and Best Film Ensemble nomination from the Screen Actors Guild. Shortly after the 2006 Academy Awards, Gyllenhaal was invited to join the Academy in recognition of his acting career. Most recently, Gyllenhaal was awarded the 2006 Young Artist Award for Artistic Excellence by The Americans for the Arts National Arts Awards for his role.
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Gyllenhaal expressed some mixed feelings about the experience of being directed by Ang Lee in Brokeback Mountain, but overall had more praise than criticism for Lee's directing style. While having complaints about the way Lee tended to disconnect with his actors once filming began, Gyllenhaal praised Lee's encouragement and direction of the actors, and the director's sensitive approach toward the material in the film. At the Directors Guild of America Awards on January 28, 2006, Gyllenhaal also praised Lee for "his humbleness and his respect for everyone around him."
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When asked about his kissing scenes with Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain, Gyllenhaal stated, "As an actor, I think we need to embrace the times we feel most uncomfortable" and when asked about the more intimate scenes with Ledger Gyllenhaal stated he approached them "like doing a love scene with a woman I'm not particularly attracted to". Following the release of Brokeback Mountain, rumors circulated regarding the actor's sexual orientation. When asked about such gossip during an interview, Gyllenhaal said:
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Jake Gyllenhaal:
"You know it's flattering when there's a rumor that says I'm bisexual. It means I can play more kinds of roles. I'm open to whatever people want to call me. I've never really been attracted to men sexually, but I don't think I would be afraid of it if it happened."

--Jake Gyllenhaal
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Also in 2005, Gyllenhaal narrated the short animated film The Man Who Walked Between the Towers, based on Mordicai Gerstein`s book of the same name about Philippe Petit's famous stunt. Gyllenhaal's current project is the upcoming movie Zodiac, directed by David Fincher and based on a true story. He plays Robert Graysmith, a San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist and author of two books about the Zodiac serial killer.
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There are indications that Gyllenhaal will star in The Space Between, a comedy about a young A&R music executive who is ordered to drop an aging rock star from the record's label.
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He is also rumored to be in the running to star in The Green Hornet, an action movie about the exploits of fictional newspaper publisher Britt Reid, whose secret identity is "The Green Hornet", a crime fighter dedicated to protecting his city's citizens. Both projects are still in development. It was confirmed that Gyllenhaal was to play Lance Armstrong in a biopic of his life, but Gyllenhaal's agents have denied any involvement in the project.
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On September 26, 2006 he was announced to play in the movie Rendition, a thriller that takes place in the Middle East. Gyllenhaal will star alongside Reese Witherspoon and the film is being directed by Gavin Hood.
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Source: Wikipedia

During his childhood, Jake Gyllenhaal was regularly exposed to the film industry due to his family's deep ties to the trade. As an eleven-year-old, he was cast alongside Billy Crystal for his film debut in the 1991 film City Slickers. His parents, however did not subsequently allow him to appear in the 1992 film The Mighty Ducks, because it would have required him to be away from home for two months. In ensuing years, although his parents allowed him to audition for parts, they regularly forbade him to take them if he was chosen.
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An exception to this was if Gyllenhaal were to appear in one of his father's own films, and Stephen cast his son several times during his early career. Gyllenhaal appeared in the 1993 film A Dangerous Woman (along with his sister Maggie), in a 1994 episode of Homicide: Life on the Street, and in the 1998 comedy Homegrown. Along with their mother, Jake and Maggie appeared in two episodes of Molto Mario, an Italian cooking show on the Food Network. Prior to his senior year in high school, the only other film not directed by his father in which Gyllenhaal was allowed to perform was Josh and S.A.M., a little-known children's adventure.
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Gyllenhaal graduated from the Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles in 1998, and then attended Columbia University (which his sister and mother also attended) to study Eastern religions and philosophy. Gyllenhaal dropped out after two years to concentrate on his acting career. He has stated that he hopes to return to school one day to finish his degree. Gyllenhaal's first lead role was in October Sky, Joe Johnston's 1999 adaptation of the Homer Hickam autobiography "Rocket Boys." He portrayed a young man struggling to win a science scholarship to avoid becoming a miner. The film earned $32 million and was described in the Sacramento News and Review as Gyllenhaal's "breakout performance".
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Source: Wikipedia