Claim: Jake Gyllenhaal is a person.

Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal -LRB- -LSB- ˈdʒɪlənhɑːl -RSB- ; born December 19 , 1980 -RRB- is 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 -LRB- 1991 -RRB- , followed by roles in A Dangerous Woman -LRB- 1993 -RRB- and Homegrown -LRB- 1998 -RRB- . His breakthrough performance was as Homer Hickam in October Sky -LRB- 1999 -RRB- and he garnered an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Male Lead for playing the title character in the indie cult hit Donnie Darko -LRB- 2001 -RRB- , in which he played a psychologically troubled teenager alongside his older sister , Maggie Gyllenhaal . He subsequently appeared in another indie film , The Good Girl -LRB- 2002 -RRB- and the climate fiction-disaster film The Day After Tomorrow -LRB- 2004 -RRB- , portraying a student caught in a cataclysmic climate event .   In 2005 , Gyllenhaal portrayed Anthony `` Swoff '' Swofford in Jarhead , Gwyneth Paltrow 's love interest in Proof , and Jack Twist in Ang Lee 's Brokeback Mountain . For his performance in Brokeback Mountain , he received critical acclaim and won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role , the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor -- Motion Picture , and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor .   Gyllenhaal received further recognition for roles in Zodiac -LRB- 2007 -RRB- , Brothers -LRB- 2009 -RRB- , Prince of Persia : The Sands of Time -LRB- 2010 -RRB- , Love & Other Drugs -LRB- 2010 -RRB- , for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor -- Motion Picture Musical or Comedy , Source Code -LRB- 2011 -RRB- , End of Watch -LRB- 2012 -RRB- , Prisoners , Enemy -LRB- both 2013 -RRB- , Nightcrawler -LRB- 2014 -RRB- , Southpaw -LRB- 2015 -RRB- and Nocturnal Animals -LRB- 2016 -RRB- . For Nightcrawler , his performance was widely acclaimed and received rave reviews from critics and he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor -- Motion Picture Drama , the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role , and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role .