BY: Amanda Jane Stern

Jake Gyllenhaal was born into a film family. His father, Stephen Gyllenhaal, is a director and his mother, Naomi Foner, is a screenwriter. And of course, his older sister Maggie Gyllenhaal is also an actor. He got bitten by the acting bug early and made his film debut at the age of eleven in the film City Slickers. His breakthrough performance was in the 1999 film October Sky. In the movie, he played the lead role of Homer Hickam, a teenager inspired by Sputnik to take up rocketry. He soon followed that up with the cult-classic Donnie Darko, where he acted alongside his sister. He’s best known for his Academy Award-nominated performance as closeted cowboy Jack Twist in Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain.

With decades of experience and roles ranging from romantic leads, like in Love & Other Drugs, to amoral lunatics, like in Nightcrawler, Gyllenhaal has proven his talent as an actor. Let’s take a look at some of his upcoming projects.

The Division

In this David Leitch movie, a group of bio-terrorists release a modified strain of Smallpox called the “Green Poison” in NYC. The rapid spread of the disease leads to the collapse of the urban society and the rise of different factions vying for control. It is up to the newly activated Strategic Homeland Division to restore peace while scientists work on a cure. Wow, this movie sounds just a little too real right now.

Rio

In this movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Benedict Cumberbatch, a financial reporter travels to Rio de Janeiro to visit a wealthy friend. What was supposed to be just a friendly visit turns into so much more when the reporter finds himself sucked into a scheme to fake his friend’s death. Why does his friend want to fake his death? We’ll have to wait and see.

Finest Kind

This upcoming crime thriller follows two brothers who strike a deal with a crime syndicate that links them to the Boston underworld. Now, thrust into a world of crime and deception, the brothers find themselves pitted against each other fighting for survival.

The Anarchists vs. ISIS 

In this Action film based on a Rolling Stone article by Seth Harp, a group of American activists teams up with a Kurdish militia to help defeat ISIS in Syria. So far, Gyllenhaal is the only actor attached to this project.

Snow Blind

This neo-noir follows a teenager who discovers that his family has been in the Witness Protection Program for years. Now, he must figure out who is tracking his family down and why, before it’s too late.

Lake Success 

This upcoming miniseries follows Barry Cohen (Gyllenhaal), a narcissistic hedge fund manager who, while on the run from the SEC, tries to track down his college girlfriend in the hopes of reconciliation. Meanwhile, back in NYC, his wife begins an affair of her own.