Most of his notable work is involved with psychological thrillers. But he has had his moments in action blockbusters. such as Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time.
2006 saw Gyllenhaal receive his first Oscar nomination and he also received a Golden Globe and BAFTA nomination last year.
His current and future projects look to be helping him collect that all important first major awards win. Be sure to check him out over the next few years as this could be the peak of Gyllenhaal's career.
A few films just missing out on my top 10 are Jarhead, The Day After Tomorrow and Moonlight Mile. Jarhead is an interesting psycological war film with a heavy political theme to it. Gyllenhaal plays the lead brilliantly and director Sam Mendes gives us his usual brilliance.
Despite all that, nothing much acutally happens in the film. It's not helped that the war (Desert Storm) it is portraying was a slow in general.
As for The Day After Tomorrow, this is a good fun end-of-the-world blockbuster that I remember being super excited for when it got released.
It may be cliched, but the fast tempo of the movie makes this enjoyable watch with some great action set-pieces.
This was probably Gyllenhaal's breakthrough performance that got him noticed.
Moonlight Mile was the first of two films that he has lead where he plays someone grieving the death of his wife/fiancee.
With great supporting performances by Dustin Hoffman, Susan Sarandon and Ellen Pompeo, this is a touching drama that also a surprising amount of comedy.
A hugely under-rated feature.
Out of his 40 films, I have seen 28 of them. I will rank all of the films that I have seen, and give a short review for each of my top 10:
28) Accidental Love
27) Ambulance
26) Road House
25) Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time
24) Strange World
23) Bubble Boy
22) Southpaw
21) Spider-Man: Far From Home
20) The Sisters Brothers
19) City Slickers
18) Jarhead
17) The Day After Tomorrow
16) Moonlight Mile
15) Life
14) Love & Other Drugs
13) The Covenant
23) Bubble Boy
22) Southpaw
21) Spider-Man: Far From Home
20) The Sisters Brothers
19) City Slickers
18) Jarhead
17) The Day After Tomorrow
16) Moonlight Mile
15) Life
14) Love & Other Drugs
13) The Covenant
12) Wildlife
11) Stronger
10) Everest - Director Baltasar Kormakur really gives us a gripping account on a tragic true story about a group of people attempting to climb to the summit of Mount Everest in 1996.
Gyllenhaal plays experienced mountaineer Scott Fischer who leads a rival climbing expedition called 'Mountain Madness'. He gives great support to the main characters in what is a truly gripping and thrilling adventure.
9) End Of Watch - A film about the life of two policeman on the streets of Los Angeles directed by a person who has experienced most of his life in that part of the world is as heavily detailed as you would expect it to be.
With the cinematography mainly in the style of a security camera/CCTV, it gives the film a great sense of realism and makes the experience much more enjoyable. Gyllenhaal partnered with Michael Pena give us highly believable characters and their chemistry is terrific.
8) Nocturnal Animals - Gyllenhaal is a hard-hitting thriller that is tough to watch. He plays a writer who send his latest novel to his ex-wife, where the book eventually haunts her.
I was not expecting it to be this brutal and gripping. Gyllenhaal and the rest of the cast do a great job, and the story is quite something.
7) Brokeback Mountain - Seen as one of the most important films of the 21st century, this winner of Oscars is powerfully dramatic story about two cowboys living a secret same-sex relationship.
The honesty in the performances of Gyllenhaal and the late great Heath Ledger give this film the status it deserves. Director Ang Lee has given a real thought provoking drama that will probably be referred to for the next few decades.
6) Nightcrawler - An exciting and tense crime thriller that sees an almost unrecognisable Gyllenhaal play Lou Bloom, a man looking for work who ends up making his own business in a job sector that is a messy one.
His performance is astonishing and with great support from Rene Russo, this is one thrill ride that amazed many people last year.
5) Zodiac - A David Fincher gritty crime thriller is always a recipe for success.
However, a different style of story-telling is used and we still get something thoroughly entertaining.
Gyllenhaal plays a newspaper cartoonist that suddenly becomes an amateur detective during the infamous Zodiac killer case.
It has a stellar cast and has a style of film-making that pulls you in ever so slowly.
4) Demolition - A weirdly wonderfully way of portraying someone mourning a loved one's death. When a banker loses his wife in a car accident, an unlikely series of events follow on.
The tone manages to make the viewing experience both heavy-hearted and uplifting. The cast and script is superb and has a surprising amount of comedy.
3) Source Coude - A very clever mystery sci-fi thriller that will give Inception a run for its money in terms of complexities. Directed by Duncan Jones who also did Moon, this is an interesting premise that was perfectly executed.
Gyllenhaal plays a soldier who is on a mission to find a bomber on a train. He only has 8 minutes to complete his assignment.
2) Prisoners - Probably the biggest surprise hit of 2013.
Directed by Dennis Villeneuve, who is becoming one of the most wanted directors in the filming industry at the moment.
When a father's daughter and her friend go missing, we get quite a surreal crime drama that slowly becomes something quite tense.
Only recently got round to seeing this and completely regret not going to see this at the cinema.
1) Donnie Darko - This wonderfully complex mystery drama became one of the biggest cult movies of the 21st century.
It sees a young Gyllenhaal play a troubled teenager plagued by a vision of a bunny telling when the world will end.
That plot does sound completely ridiculous. But trust me, there is more to it then that small synopsis I have given. This is something you have never seen before.
11) Stronger
Gyllenhaal plays experienced mountaineer Scott Fischer who leads a rival climbing expedition called 'Mountain Madness'. He gives great support to the main characters in what is a truly gripping and thrilling adventure.
With the cinematography mainly in the style of a security camera/CCTV, it gives the film a great sense of realism and makes the experience much more enjoyable. Gyllenhaal partnered with Michael Pena give us highly believable characters and their chemistry is terrific.
I was not expecting it to be this brutal and gripping. Gyllenhaal and the rest of the cast do a great job, and the story is quite something.
The honesty in the performances of Gyllenhaal and the late great Heath Ledger give this film the status it deserves. Director Ang Lee has given a real thought provoking drama that will probably be referred to for the next few decades.
His performance is astonishing and with great support from Rene Russo, this is one thrill ride that amazed many people last year.
However, a different style of story-telling is used and we still get something thoroughly entertaining.
Gyllenhaal plays a newspaper cartoonist that suddenly becomes an amateur detective during the infamous Zodiac killer case.
It has a stellar cast and has a style of film-making that pulls you in ever so slowly.
The tone manages to make the viewing experience both heavy-hearted and uplifting. The cast and script is superb and has a surprising amount of comedy.
Gyllenhaal plays a soldier who is on a mission to find a bomber on a train. He only has 8 minutes to complete his assignment.
Directed by Dennis Villeneuve, who is becoming one of the most wanted directors in the filming industry at the moment.
When a father's daughter and her friend go missing, we get quite a surreal crime drama that slowly becomes something quite tense.
Only recently got round to seeing this and completely regret not going to see this at the cinema.
It sees a young Gyllenhaal play a troubled teenager plagued by a vision of a bunny telling when the world will end.
That plot does sound completely ridiculous. But trust me, there is more to it then that small synopsis I have given. This is something you have never seen before.
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