The son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Gyllenhaal began acting at age ten. His last native Swedish ancestor was his great-great-grandfather, Anders Leonard Gyllenhaal. His parents insisted that he have summer jobs to support himself, and he thus worked as a lifeguard and as a busboy at a restaurant operated by a family friend. During childhood, Gyllenhaal had regular exposure to filmmaking due to his family’s deep ties to the industry. Gyllenhaal appeared in the 1993 film A Dangerous Woman (along with sister Maggie); in “Bop Gun” a 1994 episode of Homicide: Life on the Street; and in the 1998 comedy Homegrown. The film earned $32 million and was described in the Sacramento News and Review as Gyllenhaal’s “breakout performance.” Donnie Darko, Gyllenhaal’s second major film, was not a box office success upon its initial 2001 release, but eventually became a cult favorite.
Jake Gyllenhaal Witnesses Gang Violence On Police Ride-Along Looks like Jake got a harsh dose of reality when prepping for his police movie.Last night, Jake Gyllenhaal and End of Watch co-star Michael Pena witnessed the aftermath of gang violence, while on a police ride-along in South El Lay.Jake and Michael saw paramedics treat a man who had been grazed with bullets on his [...] [link]
