Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal (born December 19, 1980) is an American actor. Known for his performances on screen and stage, he has received numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Award, as well as nominations for an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, three Tony Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of film director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and the younger brother of actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. Gyllenhaal began acting as a child, making his debut in the western comedy film City Slickers (1991), followed by roles in his father's films A Dangerous Woman (1993) and Homegrown (1998). His breakthrough came as Homer Hickam in the biopic October Sky (1999), which was followed by starring roles in the thriller Donnie Darko (2001), the romantic comedy The Good Girl (2002), the disaster film The Day After Tomorrow (2004), and the war drama Jarhead (2005). Gyllenhaal won the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Jack Twist in Ang Lee's romantic western drama Brokeback Mountain (2005). Gyllenhaal emerged as a leading man in films such as Zodiac (2007), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010), Source Code (2011), End of Watch (2012), Prisoners (2013), Nightcrawler (2014), Southpaw (2015), Nocturnal Animals (2016), Stronger (2017), and Wildlife (2018). His highest grossing film is Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). He also starred in the action films The Guilty (2021), Ambulance (2022) and Road House (2024). He starred in the Apple TV thriller series Presumed Innocent (2024) for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. Gyllenhaal has also performed on stage, starring in a West End production of the play This Is Our Youth (2002) and Broadway productions of the musical Sunday in the Park with George (2017) as well as the plays Constellations (2014) and Sea Wall/A Life (2019), the last of which earned him a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.