Summary
- Jake Gyllenhaal's filmography showcases his talent as a reliable and compelling actor, with a range of roles from leading to ing.
- Gyllenhaal is drawn to working with interesting filmmakers and choosing quality projects, whether they are big-budget blockbusters or smaller, more intimate films.
- He is praised for his commitment to his roles, and his performances often elevate the material, making even mainstream genre movies more interesting and enjoyable.
All of the Jake Gyllenhaal movies showcase his gradual rise from intriguing young talent to one of the most reliable actors in Hollywood. He's a performer who makes any movie he is a part of instantly more appealing. Jake Gyllenhaal's filmography jumps between big-budget entertainment to small dramas, his parts from leading roles to ing players. One thing that's almost universally agreed — he always gives a stellar performance. That reliability as a character actor makes him a continued favorite among audiences, who seem to enjoy his smaller projects as much as his blockbusters.
Part of what makes has made Gyllenhaal's filmography so impressive is how the actor seems willing to try new things, seeks out interesting filmmakers, and challenges himself with his performances. He has taken ing roles in award-winning movies, led massive blockbusters, played the dashing hero, and intimidated as the dark villain. The best Jake Gyllenhaal movies not only highlight his talents but also the quality of projects he chooses throughout his career.
18 Everest
Baltasar Kormákur, 2015
- Available to rent on Apple TV
Though he is often seen as a Hollywood leading man, Gyllenhaal is often just as likely to appear in a ing role within a larger ensemble. Such is the case with Everest which tells the true story of a fateful expedition to climb Mount Everest which resulted in the deaths of several climbers. Gyllenhaal plays Scott Fischer, one of the more experienced climbers in the group. The movie is an intense and powerful survival story featuring a stellar cast, including Josh Brolin and Jason Clarke. It shows the determination of these climbers to achieve something extraordinary but the perils that befall them.
17 Okja
Bong Joon-ho, 2017
- Available on Netflix
Whether in lead roles or smaller ing parts, Gyllenhaal seems drawn to working with talented filmmakers. He teamed with Oscar-winner Bong Joon-ho for the adventure Okja. It follows a young girl living in a small Korean village who sets out to save her best friend, a giant pig, who has been kidnapped. Gyllenhaal has a small but memorable role as a hypocritical animal rights activist. It is an entertainingly over-the-top performance within this wild story. Though it contains his distinct sense of humor and genre-blending, it is also very different from Bong Joon-ho's other movies with a more magical feel.
16 Brothers
Jim Sheridan, 2009
- Stream on Starz
Gyllenhaal s other acclaimed actors Tobey Maguire and Natalie Portman in the intense drama Brothers. Gyllenhaal plays the wayward brother of Maguire’s soldier serving overseas. After Maguire is presumed dead, Gyllenhaal begins helping out his sister-in-law (Portman) and developing a strong bond. But tensions grow when his brother unexpectedly returns. The cast really makes the most of the intimate and powerful story with Maguire stepping away from his Spider-Man role to deliver a truly intense performance. It is filled with moments of heartbreaking sadness and unsettling confrontation that make for a compelling thriller.
15 Enemy
Denis Villeneuve, 2013
- Stream on DirecTV
Gyllenhaal played dual roles in Denis Villeneuve’s psychological thriller Enemy, which is one of the toughest tricks for an actor to pull off. He plays Adam Bell, a college history professor, who spots his exact double – an actor named Anthony Claire – while watching a movie one day. Like all the best psychological thrillers, there are a few ways to interpret this story. It could be a straightforward doppelgänger story, or it could be a surrealist extrapolation of the guilt felt by a cheating spouse. Either way, Enemy is a mesmerizing watch with a deeply disturbing ending.
14 Nocturnal Animals
Tom Ford, 2016
- Stream on Netflix
Nocturnal Animals is a great example of how Gyllenhaal seems drawn to smaller films from interesting filmmakers and featuring a great cast. The movie stars Amy Adams as a woman reading the new novel from her ex-husband (Gyllenhaal) as she begins to see parallels between their relationship and the violent story. The movie does not easily fit into any one category. It switches between the existential crisis of Adams' character and the unsettling dramatization of the novel she's reading. The moody and somber tone is effective throughout as are the performances, especially Michael Shannon's Oscar-nominated role as a cop willing to work outside the law.
13 Source Code
Duncan Jones, 2011
- Stream on Showtime
Whenever Gyllenhaal does take on a more mainstream genre movie, there's always something interesting about the story that provides the actor with a challenge. Source Code fits that description: the sci-fi thriller stars Gyllenhaal as a soldier who is sent back in time to relive a train bombing again and again so he can learn the identity of the bomber. The high-concept story provides an extremely intriguing jumping-off point that keeps unraveling new details about the mystery. Gyllenhaal is great as the confused hero thrown into an impossible situation. The movie was a crowd-pleasing hit, mixing action and sci-fi effectively. Source Code's ambiguous ending still has people talking about it.
12 Ambulance
Michael Bay, 2022
- Stream on Peacock
The 2022 action thriller Ambulance provided further proof that Michael Bay does his best work on a modest budget that forces him to get creative to thrill his audience. Gyllenhaal stars alongside Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as two brothers who rob a bank and escape in a stolen ambulance with a cop and a paramedic as hostages. Ambulance is essentially a feature-length car chase through the streets of L.A., and Bay doesn’t take his foot off the gas for the entire two-hour runtime. Ambulance might be Bay’s best movie: a non-stop action-packed thrill-ride with an emotional core.
11 The Guilty
Antoine Fuqua, 2021
- Stream on Netflix
A remake of the 2018 Danish film of the same name, The Guilty takes place entirely in a 911 call center. Gyllenhaal plays a disgraced cop working the night shift as he desperately attempts to save a woman who he believes has been kidnapped. Director Antoine Fuqua does an incredible job of building tension and telling a fast-paced, high-stakes police procedural story without ever leaving the room. True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto’s script is full of unexpected twists and turns, and Gyllenhaal brings the movie to life with an electrifying performance.
10 Southpaw
Antoine Fuqua, 2015
- Stream on Netflix
Gyllenhaal has always been a deeply committed actor and that certainly shows in this intense sports drama. Southpaw is inspired by Eminem despite being a sports movie — Gyllenhaal plays a champion boxer who suffers a personal tragedy that sends him into a destructive downward spiral. He then sets himself on a path to regain his championship and win back his daughter. Gyllenhaal’s impressive transformation is only the start of what makes his performance so compelling. The movie itself is a fairly standard sports drama and redemption tale, but it features one of Gyllenhaal's best performances which elevates the material.
9 End Of Watch
David Ayer, 2012
- Available to rent on Apple TV
Cop movies are a dime a dozen in Hollywood, but End of Watch found a unique and interesting take on the genre. The David Ayer film stars Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña as LAPD partners who inadvertently become the target of the cartel after making a shocking discovery. The movie uses the found-footage template, telling the story in a voyeuristic way. It feels like an authentic exploration of the life of police without painting a pretty picture as some Hollywood movies tend to do. Gyllenhaal and Pena are excellent, playing the fun aspects of the buddy duo while their bond is one that audiences genuinely care about.
