Jake on the set of Everest (2015)With Enemy, Dennis Villeneuve's trippy new thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jake Gyllenhaal opening this weekend, it's time to look back on this actor we've loved ever since he stared in a mirror and saw a demonic rabbit staring back at him. Jake's been picky in his career making less features than other stars who've been in the business for nearly a quarter century. (Since his parents are both in the industry, he started young.) Jake recently turned 33 -- the Jesus year (!) which we'll pretend explains the hair -- and he's already built an enviable filmography having starred in at least one bonafide classic (Brokeback Mountain) and two others that might also stand the test of time (Donnie Darko, Zodiac).
So the question is now, what kind of a second act is his career going to have now that he's in Hollywood's preferred age range for male movie stars (thirtysomething through the fortysomethings is when most of the iconic roles happen)? His last three pictures have all been very good and very different (End of Watch, Prisoners, Enemy) which is probably a good sign.
Enemy is his 24th feature. How many have you seen? Let's take a trip back in time...
Child Actor (1991-1993)
City Slickers, A Dangerous Woman, Josh and S.A.M.
Adolescence (1998-2001)
Homegrown, October Sky, Donnie Darko
Dreamy Troubled Boyfriend Phase (2001-2002)
Bubble Boy, Lovely & Amazing, The Good Girl
Flailing Around (2002-2004)
Highway, Moonlight Mile, The Day After Tomorrow
Ascendance - "Gyllenhaalics" becomes a thing (2005)
Proof, Jarhead, Brokeback Mountain
Headliner in All Star Ensembles (2007-2009)
Zodiac, Rendition, Brothers
Leading Man / Mixed Results (2010-2011)
Prince of Persia, Love and Other Drugs, Source Code
Right Now (2012-2014)
End of Watch, Prisoners, Enemy
How many have you seen? How many did you love? And what do you think Jake's future will hold? He's currently filming the mountain climbing drama Everest (for which he has returned to body-ody-ody) and has already wrapped Nightcrawler (2015), another thriller (which seems to be his genre of choice) for which he became skeletal a la McConaughey & Leto this past year.