Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal is an American actor and film producer. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner. He began acting as a child, making his acting debut in City Slickers, followed by roles in his father's films A Dangerous Woman and Homegrown. His breakthrough performances were as Homer Hickam in October Sky and as a psychologically troubled teenager in Donnie Darko. His most widely seen film to that point came with the disaster film The Day After Tomorrow.Gyllenhaal won a BAFTA Award and received an Academy Award nomination for playing Jack Twist in Ang Lee's romance Brokeback Mountain. His career progressed with starring roles in the thriller Zodiac, the romantic comedy Love & Other Drugs, and the science fiction film Source Code. He continued to gain acclaim for Denis Villeneuve's thrillers Prisoners and Enemy, and he received nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his roles as a manipulative journalist in Nightcrawler  and a troubled writer in Nocturnal Animals. His highest-grossing release came with the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Spider-Man: Far From Home, in which he portrayed Mysterio.Gyllenhaal has also performed on stage, starring in Broadway productions of the musical Sunday in the Park with George as well as the plays Constellations and Sea Wall/A Life, the lattermost of which earned him a Tony Award nomination. In addition to acting, he is vocal about political and social issues.