Trivia
- Son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner.
- Younger brother of Maggie Gyllenhaal.
- His godmother is Jamie Lee Curtis and godfather is Paul Newman.
- He received his first driving lesson from Paul Newman.
- Graduated Harvard-Westlake (private) high school. [1998]
- Is of Swedish (noble) and Russian-Jewish descent.
- His fans refer to themselves as “Gyllenhaalics”.
- Sister Maggie Gyllenhaal introduced him to Kirsten Dunst. Both Kirsten and Maggie appeared in Mona Lisa Smile (2003). Jake and Kirsten dated, but broke up in July 2004.
- He was awarded the 2002 London Evening Standard Theate Award for Outstanding Newcomer for his performance in This is Our Youth at the Garrick Theatre in London, England.
- Was set to play Spiderman in Spider-Man 2 (2004) due to complications with Tobey Maguire. While he was preparing for the role, Maguire was back as Spiderman.
- Attended high school with “Freaks and Geeks” (1999) star Jason Segel.
- Was named one of People Magazine’s 50 Hottest Bachelors [2004].
- Is close friends with Natalie Portman and Bryce Dallas Howard.
- Went to elementary school with band members of Maroon 5.
- On Phantom Planet’s album “The Guest”, lead singer Alex Greenwald lists him in his thank yous. Alex appeared with Jake in Donnie Darko (2001).
- His favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird, and he had a dog, Atticus, named after the novel’s main character.
- Auditioned for and was one of the top contenders for the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins (2005).
- Shares his birthday with Marla Sokoloff, Alyssa Milano, Jennifer Beals, Criss Angel and Édith Piaf.
- Before success as an actor, he worked as a lifeguard. He never had any life-saving incidents, but did perform one lesser rescue. A swimmer had been stung on the leg by a jellyfish, and Gyllenhaal helped relieve the pain of the stings by urinating on the swimmer’s leg.
- Although they broke up in July 2004, he and Kirsten Dunst had an on and off relationship up until 2006.
- Gained five pounds of muscle for his role in Jarhead (2005).
- When asked who his idols are he said Anthony Quinn, Paul Newman, Sean Penn, Bruce Springsteen and Bono.
- Spent two years at Columbia University, where one of his professors was Robert Thurman, Uma Thurman’s father.
- Godfather of Matilda Ledger, born October 28, 2005 (daughter of actor Heath Ledger and actress Michelle Williams.
- Was among the guests at Jessica Simpson’s 25th birthday party.
- He gave Kirsten Dunst a gray and white kitten for her birthday. She named the cat Sophie.
- Ranked #48 on Premiere’s 2006 “Power 50” list. It is his first appearance on the list.
- His first four big roles were in movies with alliterated titles: Bubble Boy (2001), Donnie Darko (2001), Moonlight Mile (2002), The Good Girl (2002).
- Invited to join AMPAS in 2006.
- Studied acting with Ivana Chubbuck.
- Along with sister, Maggie Gyllenhaal, he attended Camp Walt Whitman, an outdoors summer camp in Western New Hampshire.
- Has a production company called Nine Stories Productions.
- Uncle of Ramona Sarsgaard, born October 3, 2006. She is the daughter of his older sister Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard.
- His uncle, Anders Gyllenhaal, is editor-in-chief of the Star Tribune newspaper in Minneapolis.
- Is good friends with Lance Armstrong and Matthew McConaughey.
- Like all Gyllenhaals on the male line, he is a Swedish nobleman by birth right and is listed in the Swedish Almanac of Nobility (“Sveriges Ridderskaps och Adels Kalender” in Swedish).
- Campaigned for the Democrats in the 2004 US election.
- As of 2007, has starred in three movies where he played not only a real person, but the person who wrote the book upon which the film was based: Homer Hickham (October Sky), Anthony Swofford (Jarhead) and Robert Graysmith (Zodiac).
- Voted #10 in Elle (France) Magazine’s “15 Sexiest Men” poll (June 2007).
- Had his Bar Mitzvah party at a homeless shelter, something his parents encouraged to help him recognize how privileged his own childhood had been (a Bar Mitzvah is the coming-of-age service that Jewish boys celebrate at age 13).
- He appeared in a 1994 episode of “Homicide: Life on the Street” (1993) that was directed by his father, Stephen.
- Was personally approved by Joe Namath to play the football legend in an upcoming biopic about the latter’s life.
- Was ranked #8 on Entertainment Weekly’s ’30 Under 30′ the actors list. (2008).
- Very good friends with actress Jennifer Aniston.
- Boyfriend of Reese Witherspoon [2008], until their break-up in 2009.
- Brother-in-law of Peter Sarsgaard.
- He and sister Maggie Gyllenhaal are the first siblings to be Oscar-nominated for acting in the 21st century.
- His official Facebook page is facebook.com/jakegyllenhaal.
- He is not on Twitter. (Anyone claiming to be the actor Jake Gyllenhaal is a fake!)
