Milestones

Happy Birthday to Jake Gyllenhaal. As we wrap up one year and begin another, let's celebrate some important 2018 moments.

First off, the birthday boy. Some birthday video compilations. We need one for 38 though!

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To the joy and relief of many, Jake finally joined Instagram this year. He's only made two posts, but both have been hits. Jake's IG debut confirmed his role as Mysterio in the next Spider-man movie - his first superhero film. It also came right before Jake's exuberant appearance at Comic Con Experience Brazil, where he was enthusiastically greeted:

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Jake and other stars marked the 75th anniversary of New York's City Center, where he appeared in Little Shop of Horrors and Sunday in the Park with George:

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Brokeback Mountain was one of the films selected to be added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress this year. The films chosen are deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant to the nation's film heritage, to be preserved for all time.

"I didn't intend to make a statement with Brokeback Mountain," Lee said. "I simply wanted to tell a purely Western love story between two cowboys. To my great surprise, the film ended up striking a deep chord with audiences; the movie became a part of the culture, a reflection of the darkness and light — of violent prejudice and enduring love — in the rocky landscape of the American heart.

"More than a decade has passed since Brokeback Mountain was released, but I hope that this film, a small movie with wide open spaces, continues to express something both fresh and fundamental about my adopted country."

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2019 will see Jake make his Public Theater debut:

In A Life, Gyllenhaal plays a man struggling to reconcile his emotions surrounding the death of his father and the birth of his daughter. Originally titled The Art of Dying, the piece started as a monologue that Payne performed at London’s Donmar Warehouse in 2013, in the aftermath of his own father’s death. Gyllenhaal, who gave deeply felt performances in Payne’s earlier plays If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet and Constellations, spent the next four years begging the playwright to let him perform it. By the time he relented, Payne had become a father, and he, Cracknell, and Gyllenhaal worked together to bring A Life into its current form.

Gyllenhaal relishes the chance to perform something that feels so personal and vulnerable. “The nature of being alone onstage, as much as it might delight the 30 percent narcissist that I am, terrifies the other percentage,” he says. “At its best, it’s not a performance. There are no masks, no protection.”

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One of the year's biggest milestones was the 15th anniversary of I Heart Jake, the internet's best, most comprehensive and overall nicest Jake Gyllenhaal resource. We all owe a huge debt to Stephanie for running such a comprehensive, easy-to-use, up-to-date, one-stop resource for all things Jake. Even more impressive than the breadth of its content? Stephanie is the sweetest, most helpful person, even after dealing with all of us for all these years. From everyone here, a huge Thank You to Stephanie/IHJ. None of us could do this without you.

via GIPHY