Trivia
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  • Son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner. Younger brother of Maggie Gyllenhaal. His godmother is Jamie Lee Curtis and godfather is Paul Newman. He received his first driving lesson from Newman.
  • Graduated Harvard-Westlake (private) high school. [1998]
  • Is of Swedish (noble) and Russian-Jewish descent.
  • His fans refer to themselves as “Gyllenhaalics”.
  • Sister Maggie Gyllenhaal introduced him to Kirsten Dunst. Both Kirsten and Maggie appeared in Mona Lisa Smile (2003). Jake and Kirsten dated, but broke up in July 2004.
  • He was awarded the 2002 London Evening Standard Theate Award for Outstanding Newcomer for his performance in This is Our Youth at the Garrick Theatre in London, England.
  • Was set to play Spiderman in Spider-Man 2 (2004) due to complications with Tobey Maguire. While he was preparing for the role, Maguire was back as Spiderman.
  • Attended high school with “Freaks and Geeks” (1999) star Jason Segel.
  • Was named one of People Magazine’s 50 Hottest Bachelors [2004].
  • Is close friends with Natalie Portman and Bryce Dallas Howard.
  • Went to elementary school with band members of Maroon 5.
  • On Phantom Planet’s album “The Guest”, lead singer Alex Greenwald lists him in his thank yous. Alex appeared with Jake in Donnie Darko (2001).
  • His favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird, and he has a dog, Atticus, named after the novel’s main character.
  • Auditioned for and was one of the top contenders for the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins (2005).
  • Shares his birthday with Marla Sokoloff, Alyssa Milano, Jennifer Beals, Criss Angel and Édith Piaf.
  • Before success as an actor, he worked as a lifeguard. He never had any life-saving incidents, but did perform one lesser rescue. A swimmer had been stung on the leg by a jellyfish, and Gyllenhaal helped relieve the pain of the stings by urinating on the swimmer’s leg.
  • Although they broke up in July 2004, he and Kirsten Dunst had an on and off relationship up until 2006.
  • Gained five pounds of muscle for his role in Jarhead (2005).
  • When asked who his idols are he said Anthony Quinn, Paul Newman, Sean Penn, Bruce Springsteen and Bono.
  • Spent two years at Columbia University, where one of his professors was Robert Thurman, Uma Thurman’s father.
  • Godfather of Matilda Ledger, born October 28, 2005 (daughter of actor Heath Ledger and actress Michelle Williams.
  • Was among the guests at Jessica Simpson’s 25th birthday party.
  • He gave Kirsten Dunst a gray and white kitten for her birthday. She named the cat Sophie.
  • Ranked #48 on Premiere’s 2006 “Power 50″ list. It is his first appearance on the list.
  • His first four big roles were in movies with alliterated titles: Bubble Boy (2001), Donnie Darko (2001), Moonlight Mile (2002), The Good Girl (2002).
  • Invited to join AMPAS in 2006.
  • Studied acting with Ivana Chubbuck.
  • Along with sister, Maggie Gyllenhaal, he attended Camp Walt Whitman, an outdoors summer camp in Western New Hampshire.
  • Uncle of Ramona Sarsgaard, born October 3, 2006. She is the daughter of his older sister Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard.
  • His uncle, Anders Gyllenhaal, is editor-in-chief of the Star Tribune newspaper in Minneapolis.
  • Is good friends with Lance Armstrong and Matthew McConaughey.
  • Like all Gyllenhaals on the male line, he is a Swedish nobleman by birth right and is listed in the Swedish Almanac of Nobility (“Sveriges Ridderskaps och Adels Kalender” in Swedish).
  • Campaigned for the Democrats in the 2004 US election.
  • As of 2007, has starred in three movies where he played not only a real person, but the person who wrote the book upon which the film was based: Homer Hickham (October Sky), Anthony Swofford (Jarhead) and Robert Graysmith (Zodiac).
  • Voted #10 in Elle (France) Magazine’s “15 Sexiest Men” poll (June 2007).
  • Had his Bar Mitzvah party at a homeless shelter, something his parents encouraged to help him recognize how privileged his own childhood had been (a Bar Mitzvah is the coming-of-age service that Jewish boys celebrate at age 13).
  • He appeared in a 1994 episode of “Homicide: Life on the Street” (1993) that was directed by his father, Stephen.
  • Was personally approved by Joe Namath to play the football legend in an upcoming biopic about the latter’s life.
  • Was ranked #8 on Entertainment Weekly’s ’30 Under 30′ the actors list. (2008).
  • Very good friends with actress Jennifer Aniston.
  • Boyfriend of Reese Witherspoon [2008], until their break-up in 2009.
  • Brother-in-law of Peter Sarsgaard.
  • He and sister Maggie Gyllenhaal are the first siblings to be Oscar-nominated for acting in the 21st century.
  • He’s not on Twitter or Facebook.