Jacob
"Jake" Gyllenhaal - Benjamin pronounced / dʒɪlənhɔ ː l / ,
approximately dyílenHohl - ( b. Los Angeles , United States , December
19, 1980 ) is an American actor, son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and
screenwriter Naomi Foner . Gyllenhaal began acting at age ten. His
first starring role was in the movie October Sky ( 1999) , which
followed the independent cult film Donnie Darko, in which he portrayed a
teen with psychological problems and who shared cast with actress
Maggie Gyllenhaal her
sister in the film and in real life , and the Day After Tomorrow (
2004), a film about global cooling catastrophe which marked his debut in
the big-budget film in which she played a student, son of Dennis Quaid. 2005
was certainly the year of his consecration as an actor before the
public, thanks to his performance as a frustrated Marine in Jarhead and,
above all , the character cowboy Jack Twist in Brokeback Mountain, Ang
Lee , where he co-starred with Heath Ledger . Gyllenhaal
's work , like that of Ledger , was hailed by critics, who already had
once praised her performance in Donnie Darko . Gyllenhaal has become a political activist , promoting various political and social causes . In
recent years he has appeared in advertisements for the Rock the Vote
campaign has publicly lent his support to the Democratic Party of the
United States in the 2004 election and has promoted various
environmental and pro- American Union causes for Civil Liberties .
Gyllenhaal
was born in Los Angeles , California , the son of film director Stephen
Gyllenhaal and film producer and screenwriter Naomi Foner ( as single
Achs ) . Maggie Gyllenhaal, his older sister is also an actress , and played his sister in Donnie Darko movie . Gyllenhaal
's father was raised with swedenborgianista religion and is a
descendant of Russian , Latvian , English and Swedish noble family
Gyllenhaal. His last native Swedish ancestor was his chozno grandfather, Anders Leonard Gyllenhaal.
Jake Gyllenhaal 's mother is from a Jewish family in New York City . B'nei
Mitzvah Celebration Gyllenhaal occurred at a homeless shelter because
his parents wanted to instill a sense of gratitude for his privileged
lifestyle . Gyllenhaal has said that he considers himself " more Jewish than anything else ." Gyllenhaal 's parents insisted that worked in the summer to be kept to himself. During that time he worked as a lifeguard and busboy at a restaurant run by a family friend .