Jake Gyllenhaal
Jake Gyllenhaal
Jacob Benjamin "Jake" Gyllenhaalis an American actor. A member of the Gyllenhaal family and the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Gyllenhaal began acting as a child with a screen debut in City Slickers, followed by roles in A Dangerous Womanand Homegrown. His breakthrough performance was as Homer Hickam in October Skyand he garnered an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Male Lead for playing the title character in the indie cult hit Donnie Darko, in which...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth19 December 1980
CityLos Angeles, CA
CountryUnited States of America
I understand the opposite side of the camera. I have a profound respect for that. I have worked with people who, when you hit that mark, are doing 50 percent of your work for you. So, you know, it's a balance. When you walk into a mark and you're lit a certain way or something's happening so often you don't know what's behind you... And that's what's so strange about being a movie actor.
Being a star doesn't last. That's not what life should be about. It's a complete illusion that really has nothing to do with you. For me, finding out about life is the most important thing.
I like that when you create you really do create with a very small group of people, and in that space, before it goes out to all these people, that's what I love.
I'm superstitious a little bit.
Romance is important, but to have a friend you can use as a mirror, who can give you an objective response, that's what's really important.
I love storytelling, you know, beyond anything. I love a great story beyond a great performance. Storytelling is about what we all do together and how we collaborate together. A performance can be a collaboration in ways, but oftentimes it's one individual thing.
You can’t just lump things into two categories. Things aren’t that simple.
I love artists. I love watching other people work.
When I was 19, I thought [Brokeback Mountain] was going to be the best movie ever made. And everyone was going to see it and it was just going to be incredible. And then nobody saw it and it didn't get bought at Sundance. And it was a really great experience. Humbling. And then it's since found its way.
I think that we all have within us the potential for almost anything. If we play close attention to our lives, then we can get at it somehow.
When I walk into a screening, I'm nervous in a different way than I am as an actor. But the response is ultimately I know how I feel about it and that's what matters to me the most.
Don't listen to what anybody says except the people who encourage you.
Often times it's really hard for me to articulate why I connect to something.
I hope that when the world comes to an end, I can breathe a sigh of relief, because there will be so much to look forward to