Jake Gyllenhaal is an American actor who has received various awards and nominations, including a BAFTA Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, three Tony Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award.
After making his acting debut in City Slickers (1991), Gyllenhaal's first nominations were for October Sky (1999), an American biographical film about NASA engineer Homer Hickam. His performance as the title character in the 2001 psychological thriller film Donnie Darko earned him a Young Hollywood Award and a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead. Gyllenhaal's role of Jack Twist in Ang Lee's romance Brokeback Mountain (2005) opposite Heath Ledger received critical acclaim. In addition to receiving the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and the MTV Movie Award for Best Performance, he was nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category at the 78th Academy Awards, the 11th Critics' Choice Awards, the 10th Satellite Awards, and the 12th Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2010, he starred in the romantic comedy-drama film Love & Other Drugs, leading to Best Actor nominations at the 68th Golden Globe Awards and the 15th Satellite Awards.
Gyllenhaal received numerous accolades for his performance in Nightcrawler (2014), in which he plays a stringer who records violent late-night events and sells the footage to the media. He was recognised by several regional film critics associations and was nominated as Lead Actor for the Actor Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award and Critics' Choice Movie Award, with his miss in the Best Actor Oscar category considered by many to be a snub. In 2016, he starred in Nocturnal Animals, receiving another nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Gyllenhaal's portrayal of Boston Marathon bombing survivor Jeff Bauman in Stronger (2017) earned him the Hollywood Actor Award at the Hollywood Film Awards, as well as Best Actor nominations at the 23rd Critics' Choice Awards and the 22nd Satellite Awards.
Gyllenhaal's theatrical debut was in Kenneth Lonergan's London revival of This Is Our Youth in 2002, for which he won the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Outstanding Newcomer. For his performance in the Broadway play Sea Wall/A Life, he was nominated for Best Leading Actor in a Play at the 74th Tony Awards. On television, he starred in the Apple TV+ limited series Presumed Innocent (2025) for which he was nominated for the a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Drama Series.
Major associations Academy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2005 Best Supporting Actor Brokeback Mountain
Actor Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2005 Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Brokeback Mountain Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture 2014 Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role Nightcrawler
BAFTA Awards Year Category Nominated work Result British Academy Film Awards 2005 Best Actor in a Supporting Role Brokeback Mountain 2014 Best Actor in a Leading Role Nightcrawler 2016 Nocturnal Animals
Critics' Choice Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Critics' Choice Movie Awards 2005 Best Supporting Actor Brokeback Mountain 2012 Best Actor in an Action Movie End of Watch 2014 Best Actor Nightcrawler 2017 Stronger
Emmy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Primetime Emmy Awards 2025 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Presumed Innocent
Golden Globe Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2010 Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Love & Other Drugs 2014 Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Nightcrawler 2024 Best Actor – Television Series Drama Presumed Innocent
Tony Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2021 Best Actor in a PlaySea Wall/A Life Best Play (as a producer) Slave Play
Miscellaneous awards Association Year Category Work Result AACTA International Awards 2015 Best Actor Nightcrawler Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards 2014 Best Actor Nightcrawler Austin Film Critics Association Awards 2014 Best Actor Nightcrawler Canadian Screen Awards 2014 Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Enemy Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2006 Best Supporting Actor Brokeback Mountain 2014 Best Actor Nightcrawler Chlotrudis Awards 2003 Best Actor Donnie Darko Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards 2005 Best Supporting Actor Brokeback Mountain 2014 Best Actor Nightcrawler Detroit Film Critics Society Awards 2014 Best Actor Nightcrawler Dorian Awards 2015 Best Film Performance – Actor Nightcrawler Dubai International Film Festival Awards 2015 International Star of the Year Dublin Film Critics' Circle Awards 2014 Best Actor Nightcrawler Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2002 Outstanding Newcomer This Is Our Youth Fangoria Chainsaw Awards 2015 Best Actor Enemy Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2014 Best Actor Nightcrawler Georgia Film Critics Association Awards 2014 Best Actor Nightcrawler Gotham Awards 2005 Best Ensemble Cast Brokeback Mountain 2021 Best Feature Relic Hollywood Film Awards 2005 Hollywood Breakout Actor Award Jarhead 2013 Hollywood Supporting Actor Award Prisoners 2017 Hollywood Actor Award Stronger Houston Film Critics Society Awards 2015 Best Actor Nightcrawler 2017 Nocturnal Animals IFTA Film & Drama Awards 2004 Best International Actor 2015 Nightcrawler Independent Spirit Awards 2002 Best Male Lead Donnie Darko 2015 Best First Feature Nightcrawler Best Male Lead 2019 Best First Feature Wildlife IndieWire Critics Poll Awards 2014 Best Lead Actor Nightcrawler International Cinephile Society Awards 2006 Best Supporting Actor Brokeback Mountain 2015 Best Actor Nightcrawler Jupiter Awards 2016 Best International Actor Southpaw London Film Critics' Circle Awards 2015 Actor of the Year Nightcrawler 2017 Nocturnal Animals MTV Movie & TV Awards 2006 Best Performance Brokeback Mountain Best Kiss National Arts Awards 2006 Young Artist Award for Artistic Excellence National Board of Review Awards 2006 Best Supporting Actor Brokeback Mountain 2013 Best Ensemble Prisoners Online Film Critics Society Awards 2006 Best Supporting Actor Brokeback Mountain 2014 Best Actor Nightcrawler Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards 2005 Desert Palm Achievement Award Brokeback Mountain People's Choice Awards 2011 Favorite Action Star 2013 Favorite Dramatic Movie Actor San Diego Film Critics Society Awards 2005 Special Award Jarhead 2014 Best Actor Nightcrawler 2016 Nocturnal Animals San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Awards 2014 Best Actor Nightcrawler Satellite Awards 2003 Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy 2005 Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Brokeback Mountain Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Jarhead 2010 Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Love & Other Drugs 2014 Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Prisoners 2015 Best Actor in a Motion Picture Nightcrawler 2018 Stronger Saturn Awards 2015 Best Actor Nightcrawler Scream Awards 2011 Best Science Fiction Actor Source Code St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards 2014 Best Actor Nightcrawler Teen Choice Awards 1999 Choice Movie Breakout Performance October Sky 2003 Choice Liplock Choice Movie Breakout Star – Male 2007 Choice Movie Actor – Horror/Thriller Zodiac 2008 Choice Movie Actor – Drama Rendition 2010 Brothers Choice Movie Actor – Fantasy Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2014 Best Actor Nightcrawler Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards 2015 Best Actor in a Canadian Film Enemy Best Actor Nightcrawler Village Voice Film Poll Awards 2014 Best Actor Nightcrawler Young Artist Awards 2000 Best Leading Young Actor in a Feature Film October Sky Young Hollywood Awards 2002 Breakthrough Performance – Actor Donnie Darko YoungStar Awards 1999 Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Drama Film October Sky Zurich Film Festival 2017 Golden Eye Award
Notes
See also Jake Gyllenhaal on screen and stage References
External links