Stephen Roark Gyllenhaal ( , ; born October 4, 1949) is an American film director and poet. He is the father of actors
Jake and
Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Early life
Stephen Roark Gyllenhaal was born in
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...
, to Virginia Lowrie (née Childs) and Hugh Anders Gyllenhaal. He is of
Swedish and
English descent; through his father, he is a member of the
Gyllenhaal family, and a descendant of the cavalry officer Nils Gunnesson Haal, who was ennobled in 1652 when
Queen Christina of Sweden conferred upon him the crest and family name, "Gyllenhaal".
Gyllenhaal grew up in
Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, a suburb of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
in a close-knit
Swedenborgian
The New Church (or Swedenborgianism) can refer to any of several historically related Christian denominations that developed under the influence of the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). The Swedenborgian tradition is considered to ...
family. He graduated from
Trinity College in
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
in 1972, with a degree in English. His mentor at Trinity was the poet
Hugh Ogden.
Career
Gyllenhaal directed the film version of the
Pete Dexter novel ''
Paris Trout'', which was nominated for five
Emmy Awards
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
and won him a
DGA Award. In 1990, Gyllenhaal directed ''
Family of Spies'', which was nominated for two
Golden Globe Awards
The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...
and an Emmy. In 1992, he directed the feature film ''
Waterland
Waterland () is a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. It is situated north of Amsterdam, on the western shore of the Markermeer. It includes t ...
'', starring Jeremy Irons and Ethan Hawke. Since 1993, he has focused primarily on directing in television, including an
episode
An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a serial (radio and television), series intended for radio, television or Streaming media, streaming consumption.
Etymology
The noun ''episode'' is ...
of the ABC television series ''
Twin Peaks
''Twin Peaks'' is an American Surrealist cinema, surrealist Mystery film, mystery-Horror film, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It Pilot (Twin Peaks), premiered on American Broad ...
''. He directed his son, Jake, then 14 years old, in an episode of NBC's ''
Homicide: Life on the Street'' that aired in 1994. Gyllenhaal directed several episodes of the CBS series ''
Numb3rs'', ''
The Mentalist'', ''
Hawthorne'', ''
Army Wives'', ''Rectify'', and ''
Blue Bloods''. In 2011, Gyllenhaal directed ''
Girl Fight'' which starred
Anne Heche and earned Gyllenhaal a nomination for
Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Miniseries or TV Film.
He is also a poet, who has been published in literary journals such as ''Prairie Schooner'' and ''Nimrod''. His first collection of poetry, ''Claptrap: Notes from Hollywood'', was published in June 2006 by Cantara Christopher's New York–based literary small press, Cantarabooks.
In 2013, Gyllenhaal directed a
backdoor pilot originally titled ''Sworn to Silence'' that aired as the
Lifetime TV movie ''An Amish Murder''. It stars
Neve Campbell as a local police detective who must solve a murder case that involves the
Amish Community she was shunned from years ago. Gyllenhaal is also in post-production on a documentary about dream interpretation titled ''Exquisite Continent''.
In 2019, Gyllenhaal was on the "Social Impact Advisory Board" of the
San Diego International Film Festival with
Susan Sarandon and
Cecelia Peck.
Personal life
Gyllenhaal was married to screenwriter
Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal for 32 years, from 1977 until their divorce was finalized in 2009. Together, they are the parents of actors
Maggie and
Jake Gyllenhaal.
In July 2011, he married
Kathleen Man, a filmmaker and professor who was a co-producer on Gyllenhaal's 2012 film ''
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...
''. Their son Luke was born in 2014.
His brother, Anders Gyllenhaal,
is
executive editor of the ''
Miami Herald
The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...
''.
Selected filmography
References
External links
*
*
The Gyllenhaal nameGenealogy of the Gyllenhaal family
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gyllenhaal, Stephen
1949 births
Living people
Film directors from Ohio
Film producers from Ohio
Writers from Cleveland
Filmmakers from Cleveland
American television directors
American people of Swedish descent
American people of English descent
American male poets
Poets from Ohio
American Swedenborgians
Stephen
Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...
Directors Guild of America Award winners
Trinity College (Connecticut) alumni