Jake Gyllenhaal in End of Watch
Jake Gyllenhaal may have been considered just another pretty face when he kicked off his acting career but he has turned into one of the most talented, versatile and exciting actors currently working in Hollywood.
His twenty year career has seen him move seamlessly from small indie projects to bit budget blockbusters.
He kicked off his acting career in 1991 but it wasn't really until Donnie Darko ten years later, which was only his second major film, that he really made his breakthrough.
Directed by Richard Kelly the movie saw Gyllenhaal take on the role of a troubled youngster who has vision of a giant rabbit.
The movie was one of the must sees pictures at the Sundance Film Festival that year and it really announced Gyllenhaal as a talent to keep an eye on.
After Donnie Darko the actor went on to star in Lovely & Amazing, The Good Girl and Highway as well as doing a stint on the stage.
He swapped the smaller roles for a blockbuster in 2004 when he starred in The Day After Tomorrow.
The movie teamed him up with Roland Emmerich while Dennis Quaid and Emmy Rossum were also on the cast list.
But if you thought that he would them make a career as the good looking blockbuster hero then think again as his career took another turn a year later.
It was the role of Jack Twist in Brokeback Mountain that proved to be a part that he will forever be synonymous with.
Directed by Ang Lee the movie was a love story between two cowboys and was an adaptation of the short story by Annie Proulx.
Heath Ledger starred as Twist's lover Ennis Del Mar in the film and the actors were nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor respectfully.
This fantastic movie cemented Gyllenhaal as a major Hollywood player who was interested in different and complex roles and not just the big movies.
He continued to mix and match his roles as he went from Jarhead to Proof as well as Zodiac and Rendition.
But he was to return to the blockbuster in 2010 when computer game Prince of Persia was adapted for the big screen.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, like most films that are based on computer games, was not as successful at the box office as the studio would have hoped.
As for Gyllenhaal he went on to find huge box office and critical success with comedy Love and Other Drugs as well as sci-fi thriller Source Code.
And he is back on the big screen this week with End of Watch, a movie that sees him team up with director David Ayer and actor Michael Pena.
Gyllenhaal and Pena play cops on the beat in LA who find themselves the target of the Cartel that operate there.
This movie is simply brilliant and really does show off the best of Gyllenhaal - not to mention the partnership between the two actors is also great.
We should also be seeing plenty of the actor into 2013 as he has also completed work on Nailed and An Enemy.
Jake Gyllenhaal has already enjoyed a career that has spanned over two decades and he looks set to go on to even bigger and better things.
End of Watch is out now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
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