This angelic youngster grew up to become one of the most famous faces in Hollywood.
Born in LA to a prominent film producer father and screenwriter mother, he made his film debut aged just 10 alongside film icon Billy Crystal.
After a flurry of small roles alongside his actress sister – who would star in a Batman film – he landed his breakthrough role as a psychologically tormented teen in a 2001 cult classic.
A BAFTA win and an Oscar nomination would follow for his performance in an acclaimed Western drama – which many believe was robbed of the Best Picture trophy.
His latest role has seen him undergo a shock body transformation to play a tough fighter alongside a sports star.
So can you guess who he is?
This angelic youngster grew up to become one of the most famous faces in Hollywood – so can you guess who he is?
It’s Jake Gyllenhaal! The Brokeback Mountain star, now aged 43, is among the most in-demand actors in Hollywood.
The star grew up in the world of showbiz with his Swedish director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter mother Naomi Foner.
His older sister is Maggie Gyllenhaal, 46, who has starred in films including The Dark Knight and Crazy Heart. She also co-starred with her younger brother in 2001’s Donnie Darko – which earned him critical acclaim.
Jake’s godmother is Halloween icon Jamie Lee Curtis and their family home was regularly visited by Paul Newman for dinner.
As a child Jake wore strong prescription glasses and intensive corrective lenses due to his 20/1250 vision. The star was born with a lazy eye which naturally resolved but is today classed as legally blind.
He recently told THR: ‘I like to think it’s advantageous. I’ve never known anything else. When I can’t see in the morning, before I put on my glasses, it’s a place where I can be with myself.’
In 2015 boxing movie Southpaw, he removed his contacts for a scene in which police told his character Billy “The Great” Hope his wife has died – which he says forced himself to ‘listen more closely.’
He made his acting debut as Billy Crystal’s son in the 1991 comedy City Slickers. He also appeared in 1993’s A Dangerous Woman (along with sister Maggie),and in the 1998 comedy Homegrown.
It’s Jake Gyllenhaal! The Brokeback Mountain star, now aged 43, is among the most in-demand actors in Hollywood
The star grew up in the world of showbiz with his Swedish director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter mother Naomi Foner. His older sister is Maggie Gyllenhaal, 46, who has starred in films including The Dark Knight and Crazy Heart (pictured together 2003)
As a child Jake wore strong prescription glasses and intensive corrective lenses due to his 20/1250 vision. The star was born with a lazy eye which naturally resolved but is today classed as legally blind
He made his acting debut as Billy Crystal’s son in the 1991 comedy City Slickers
The star’s godmother is Halloween star Jamie Lee Curtis (pictured 2023)
Jake starred in 2001 cult classic Donnie Darko (pictured with Drew Barrymore)
After narrowly missing out on the Spiderman and Batman roles – his most legendary role came in 2005’s Brokeback Mountain directed by Ang Lee. In the film Gyllenhaal and the late Heath Ledger played American cowboys-turned-lovers Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar
Gyllenhaal’s first lead role was in October Sky, Joe Johnston’s 1999 adaptation of the Homer Hickam autobiography Rocket Boys, in which he portrayed a young man from West Virginia striving to win a science scholarship to avoid becoming a coal miner.
The film was positively received and earned $32 million.
After narrowly missing out on the Spiderman and Batman roles – his most legendary role came in 2005’s Brokeback Mountain directed by Ang Lee.
In the film Gyllenhaal and the late Heath Ledger played American cowboys turned lovers Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar.
The film earned widespread critical acclaim and landed the actor Supporting Actor and Best Actor Oscar nods.
Gyllenhaal stars alongside Conor McGregor as Knox in the Amazon Road House remake
The film shockingly lost out on the Best Picture Oscar to Crash – a decision which has since been marked as one of the biggest upsets in the awards show’s history.
He most recently played Elwood Dalton in the Amazon remake of the 1989 movie, Road House – and unveiled a muscular body transformation which saw him diet down to five per cent body fat.
MMA fighter Conor McGregor played Knox in the film – with the streamer revealing the movie was their ‘most watched produced film debut ever on a worldwide basis’ – attracting 50million viewers over the first two weekends of the film airing.
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