The Nominees: Jake Gyllenhaal
Considering his family background, it's not surprising that Jake Gyllenhaal decided to become an actor. He is the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and his sister is the actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. But when he went to Columbia University, he didn't major in drama, but in Eastern religion.
During an appearance on The Early Show last November, Gyllenhaal, 25, described what was then his next project: "It's a love story between two ranch hands in Wyoming and it spans from the 1960s to the 1980s and, to me, it's sort of a redefining of your typical love story." The project was "Brokeback Mountain," and in addition to Gyllenhaal's own nomination, his co-stars, Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams, also are up for Oscars — Ledger as a lead actor and Williams, as a supporting actress.
On Feb. 19, he was named for best supporting actor by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards in London.
More from CBSNews.com on Heath Ledger and on the Oscars...
In 1991, Gyllenhaal made his film debut in "City Slickers." (He played Billy Crystal's son.) He was also featured in two of his father's films, "A Dangerous Woman" (1993, also written by his mother) and "Homegrown" (1998).
In 1999, Gyllenhaal took the starring role in the feel-good favorite "October Sky." The film was based on the life story of NASA engineer Homer Hickham Jr. The young actor played Hickham, a boy interested in rocket science whose brilliant mind and staunch dedication, even in the face of a discouraging father, wrote him a ticket out of his dead-end mining town.
In 2002, Gyllenhaal starred opposite Jennifer Aniston in "The Good Girl." He also appeared in the Nicole Holofcener directed independent film "Lovely and Amazing." And he starred with Dustin Hoffman, Holly Hunter and Susan Sarandon in "Moonlight Mile."
He almost got to play the lead in "Spider-Man 2" (opposite real-life romantic interest Kirsten Dunst), but Tobey Maguire eventually agreed to come back to the role he had created. Instead. Gyllenhaal played the son of Dennis Quaid's character in "The Day After Tomorrow."
Just before "Brokeback Mountain" was released last December, Gyllenhaal was seen as a soldier in the movie "Jarhead." He also starred opposite Gwyneth Paltrow and Anthony Hopkins in the screen adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Proof."