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 at just 10 years old alongside film icon Billy Crystal.
After a series of small roles alongside his actress sister – who would star in a Batman film – he made his breakthrough as a psychologically troubled teenager in a 2001 cult classic.
A BAFTA win and an Oscar nomination would follow for his performance in a critically acclaimed Western drama, which many believe was robbed of the Best Picture trophy.
In his latest role, he underwent a shocking body transformation to play a badass fighter alongside a sports star.
So can you guess who he is?
This angelic young man grew up to be one of the most famous faces in Hollywood – so can you guess who he is?
It’s Jake Gyllenhaal! The Brokeback Mountain star, now 43 years old, is one of 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 such as The Dark Knight and Crazy Heart. She also starred alongside 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 for his 20/1250 vision. The star was born with a lazy eye, which disappeared naturally, but is now considered legally blind.
He recently told THR, “I like to think it’s beneficial. I never knew anything different. If I can’t see in the morning, before I put on my glasses, it’s a place where I can be with myself.’
In the 2015 boxing film Southpaw, he deleted his contacts for a scene where the police told his character Billy ‘The Great’ Hope that 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 (alongside sister Maggie) and in the 1998 comedy Homegrown.
It’s Jake Gyllenhaal! The Brokeback Mountain star, now 43 years old, is one of 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 in 2003).
As a child, Jake wore strong prescription glasses and intensive corrective lenses for his 20/1250 vision. The star was born with a lazy eye, which disappeared naturally, but is now considered 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 (photo 2023)
Jake starred in the 2001 cult classic Donnie Darko (pictured with Drew Barrymore)
After narrowly missing out on the roles of Spiderman and Batman, 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 starring 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 who strived to win a science fair to avoid becoming a coal miner.
The film was positively received and earned $32 million.
After narrowly missing out on the roles of Spiderman and Batman, 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 received widespread critical acclaim and won the Oscar for Best Actor and Best Actor.
Gyllenhaal stars opposite Conor McGregor as Knox in the Amazon Road House remake
The film shockingly lost the Best Picture Oscar to Crash – a decision that has since been marked as one of the biggest upsets in the awards show’s history.
He recently played Elwood Dalton in the Amazon remake of the 1989 film Road House, revealing a muscular body transformation that saw him diet down to five percent body fat.
MMA fighter Conor McGregor played Knox in the film – with the streamer revealing the film was their “most-watched produced film debut ever on a global basis” – and attracted 50 million viewers during the first two weekends of the film’s broadcast.