Jake Gyllenhaal

Brown-haired with fresh-faced good looks, thoughtful young actor Jake Gyllenhaal made an impressive mark with a starring role in the 1999 feel-good favorite "October Sky".

He was born on 19th December 1980, in Los Angeles, California, USA.

With a talent and instinct beyond his years, Jake Gyllenhaal is on the fast track toward stardom. Even in the early stages of his career, he has starred opposite several of today's most respected actors such as Dustin Hoffman, Laura Dern, Holly Hunter, Chris Cooper, John C. Reilly and Susan Sarandon. He has caught the attention of audiences and critics with a series of powerful performances, and this year will be no exception.

Gyllenhaal next appeared in the little-seen children's adventure "Josh and S.A.M." (1993), playing a mean stepbrother to the title characters. The son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, the actor was also featured in two of his father's films, "A Dangerous Woman" (1993, also scripted by his mom) and "Homegrown" (1998).

The following year Gyllenhaal made his starring debut in "October Sky", a film based on the real life story of NASA engineer Homer Hickham Jr. The young actor played Hickham, a boy interested in rocket science whose brilliant mind and staunch dedication, even in the face of a discouraging father, wrote him a ticket out of his dead-end mining town.

Gyllenhaal was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for best actor in the critically acclaimed Donnie Darko. A favorite at the Sundance Film Festival, the New Market release combines elements of mystical fantasy and science fiction with teenage romance. Gyllenhaal starred in another Sundance favorite in 2002, The Good Girl. In the dark comedy, he portrays a young man who falls in love and has a torid affair with a married woman.

Marking his theater debut, Gyllenhaal appeared on the London stage with a starring role in Kenneth Lonergan's revival of This Is Our Youth. The play, which was a critical sensation on Broadway, ran for eight weeks in London's West End.

While his unassuming good looks and scholarly lifestyle didn't grab many headlines, his talent and respect for his craft would promise the likable new arrival a bright future in film.