- The son of director Stephen Gyllenhall and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Jake began acting at age ten.
- Jake has appeared in diverse roles since his first lead role in 1999's October Sky, followed by the 2001 indie cult hit Donnie Darko, in which he played a psychologically troubled teen and onscreen brother to his real-life sister, actress Maggie Gyllenhall.
- In the 2004 blockbuster The Day After Tomorrow he portrayed a student caught in a cataclysmic global cooling event, alongside Dennis Quaid as his father.
- Jake then played against type as a frustrated Marine in Jarhead (2005).
- The same year, he won critical acclaim as Jack Twist in the film Brokeback Mountain opposite Heath Ledger.
- Jake has become an activist, promoting various political and social causes.
- Jake appeared in Rock the Vote advertising, campaigned for the Democratic Party in the 2004 election, and promoted environmental causes and the American Civil Liberties Union.
- Jake's Bar Mitzvah celebration took place at a homeless shelter because his parents wanted to instill in him a sense of gratitude for his privileged lifestyle.
- Jake worked as a lifeguard, and as a busboy at a restaurant operated by a family friend in his youth.
- As an 11-year-old he made his acting debut as Billy Crystal's son in the 1991 comedy film City Slickers.
- Jake attended Columbia University, where his sister was a senior and from which his mother had graduated, to study Eastern religions and philosophy. Jake dropped out after two years to concentrate on acting, but has expressed intentions to eventually finish his degree.
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