GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT > Movies & TV

The Best Jake Gyllenhaal Movies Streaming On Netflix

By Rick Gonzales | Published

Jake Gyllenhaal 

Best Jake Gyllenhaal Movies on Netflix

Jake Gyllenhaal has been known to make eclectic choices for his movie roles. Some films have been massive blockbusters while others have flown under the radar. There is no doubt, though, that he is a Hollywood actor much in demand.

Netflix is a great place to take in some of Oscar nominee (for Brokeback Mountain) Jake Gyllenhaal’s best films. Two of the films on this list are Netflix originals, while the others first went through the local Cineplex before heading to the streaming service.

Prisoners (2013)

Prisoners tells the story of a desperate father who has no choice but to take matters into his own hands when his young daughter and her friend go missing during the Thanksgiving holiday. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Detective Loki who is trying to stop Hugh Jackman’s Keller Dover from going vigilante while also trying to find the missing girls. Viola Davis, Terrence Howard, Maria Bello, Melissa Leo, and the ever-creepy Paul Dano also star.

Watch Prisoners on Netflix.

Southpaw (2015)

Jake Gyllenhaal stars in Southpaw, a film about love, loss, and perseverance set around the world of boxing. Gyllenhaal stars as Billy Hope, a lefty boxer who carries a 42-0 record and wears the light heavyweight belt. After defending his belt one more time, tragedy strikes when a dust-up between Hope and his rival results in Billy’s wife being shot and killed. Now it is up to Billy to fight both inside and outside of the ring to reclaim everything that he truly loves.

Watch Southpaw on Netflix.

Nocturnal Animals (2016)

Nocturnal Animals is a story within a story. Jake Gyllenhaal stars are author Edward Sheffield, who sends his ex-wife Amy his manuscript to read and an invitation to dinner. Amy Adams is his ex, Susan Morrow who, because of her philandering husband, decides to take him up on it. The film jumps to Edward’s manuscript that follows Tony Hastings (also Jake Gyllenhaal) who runs into trouble with three West Texas baddies. They take Tony’s wife and daughter, in a situation that ends brutally and tragically.

Watch Nocturnal Animals on Netflix.

Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)

Contemporary art, big-money artists, and art collectors all come together in this horror mystery Netflix Original laced with a tinge of black comedy. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as art critic Morf Vandewalt who, like everyone else, is trying to cash in on an up-and-coming artist. Then, bodies begin to drop. Rene Russo, Toni Collette, Daveed Diggs, Billy Magnussen, and John Malkovich also star.

Watch Velvet Buzzsaw.

The Guilty (2021)

Antoine Fuqua directed Jake Gyllenhaal in this crime thriller that sees Gyllenhaal as a demoted police officer who has been reassigned to the 9-1-1 dispatch office. The Netflix Original tells the story of Joe Baylor, a Los Angles police officer who receives a call from Emily Lighton (Riley Keough) claiming she has been kidnapped. Joe must now try to track down who has taken Emily while dealing with his own set of personal and professional issues.

Watch The Guilty.