Stephen Gyllenhaal

Directing

Stephen Gyllenhaal

Born 1949-10-04 · Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Stephen Roark Gyllenhaal (/ˈdʒɪlənhɔːl/; born October 4, 1949; Cleveland) is an American film director and poet. He is the father of actors Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Gyllenhaal directed the film version of the Pete Dexter novel Paris Trout, which was nominated for five Emmy Awards and won him a DGA Award. In 1990, Gyllenhaal directed Family of Spies, which was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy. In 1992, he directed the feature film Waterland, starring Jeremy Irons and Ethan Hawke. Since 1993, he has focused primarily on directing in television, including an episode of the ABC television series Twin Peaks. 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 DGA Nomination for outstanding directorial achievement in movies for television. 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.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

A Dangerous Woman poster
5.5

Martha Horgan is a withdrawn, mentally disabled woman who lives with her aunt, Frances. One of Martha's unusual traits is that she doesn't lie, a quality that leads to her getting fired from a dry-cleaning shop thanks to the actions of the shifty Getso. Conflict seems to follow Martha, since she also becomes romantically involved with local fix-it man, Mackey, who is sleeping with Frances as well.

A Dangerous Woman

1993

Losing Isaiah poster
6.5

Khaila Richards, a crack-addicted single mother, accidentally leaves her baby in a dumpster while high and returns the next day in a panic to find he is missing. In reality, the baby has been adopted by a warm-hearted social worker, Margaret Lewin, and her husband, Charles. Years later, Khaila has gone through rehab and holds a steady job. After learning that her child is still alive, she challenges Margaret for the custody.

Losing Isaiah

1995

Waterland poster
6.3

The story of a mentally anguished high school history teacher going through a complete reassessment of his life. His method for reassessing his life is to narrate it to his class and interweave in it three generations of his family's history.

Waterland

1992

Question of Faith poster
9.0

A woman struck down by terminal cancer shuns conventional medical techniques at her husband's insistence and turns to alternative treatment to combat the disease.

Question of Faith

1988

The New Kids poster
6.4

A brother and his young sister come to a small town to find out a local gang terrorizes the population.

The New Kids

1985

Shattered Mind poster
4.7

Heather Locklear stars in this psychological thriller as a woman who is racked by multiple personalities and confronts a horrifying past of dark secrets buried a long time ago. When her father dies she descends into a bizarre emotional world where she lashes out at her husband and two young daughters.

Shattered Mind

1996

Shattered Mind poster
4.7

Heather Locklear stars in this psychological thriller as a woman who is racked by multiple personalities and confronts a horrifying past of dark secrets buried a long time ago. When her father dies she descends into a bizarre emotional world where she lashes out at her husband and two young daughters.

Shattered Mind

1996

An Amish Murder poster
5.8

The Amish farming community of Painter’s Mill, Ohio, is shattered when a series of brutal murders leaves the town with a sense of frailty and loss of innocence. Among the most affected by the tragedy was Kate Burkholder, a young girl who survived the terror and, as a result, left the Amish life behind. Fifteen years later, Kate returns to Painter’s Mill as its Chief of Police. Certain she’s come to terms with her past, Kate’s renewed life in her hometown is shattered when a murder investigation triggers deep-seated emotions from her childhood and exposes a dark secret that could destroy her.

An Amish Murder

2013

Girl Fight poster
6.5

Inspired by a true story, Girl Fight recounts the harrowing story of a 16-year-old, stellar high school student whose life spirals downward when her former friends conspire to upload onto the Internet a shocking video of them beating her up.

Girl Fight

2011

Promised a Miracle poster
5.3

True story of a couple charged with manslaughter when their rejection of modern medicine in favor of religion to treat their diabetic child resulted in his death.

Promised a Miracle

1988

Manchild poster
4.5

Two grown men find themselves suffering from midlife crises at the same time. Remake of British show that was never picked up

Manchild

2007

Homegrown poster
5.6

Three laborers on a Northern California marijuana plantation become increasingly paranoid when they learn that their boss has been murdered. They know enough to run, taking with them enough of the crop to pay them for services rendered. Hooking up with go-between Lucy in the next town, they plot their next move.

Homegrown

1998

Homegrown poster
5.6

Three laborers on a Northern California marijuana plantation become increasingly paranoid when they learn that their boss has been murdered. They know enough to run, taking with them enough of the crop to pay them for services rendered. Hooking up with go-between Lucy in the next town, they plot their next move.

Homegrown

1998

Certain Fury poster
5.1

Teenage prostitute Scarlet and minor offender Tracy end up on the run together in the wake of a courtroom shoot-out.

Certain Fury

1985

The Patron Saint of Liars poster
6.2

Unhappy in her marriage, expectant mother Rose (Dana Delany) flees to a home for unwed mothers in rural Tennessee in this adaptation of Ann Patchett's novel. When she stays on after her baby is born, Rose becomes friends with an elderly nun (Sada Thompson) and begins a relationship with the local handyman, Son (Clancy Brown). Everything seems fine until Rose's first husband tracks her down and she's forced to relive her troubled past.

The Patron Saint of Liars

1998

The Patron Saint of Liars poster
6.2

Unhappy in her marriage, expectant mother Rose (Dana Delany) flees to a home for unwed mothers in rural Tennessee in this adaptation of Ann Patchett's novel. When she stays on after her baby is born, Rose becomes friends with an elderly nun (Sada Thompson) and begins a relationship with the local handyman, Son (Clancy Brown). Everything seems fine until Rose's first husband tracks her down and she's forced to relive her troubled past.

The Patron Saint of Liars

1998

So B. It poster
6.6

A young girl named Heidi who lives with her mentally disabled mother, travels across the country to find out about her and her mothers past.

So B. It

2016

Living with the Dead poster
5.5

A man begins to have disturbing visions of dead people, among whom are his mother and victims of a local serial killer. All telling their story of how they died, and how their murderer is still out there. The detective investigating the murders looks to him for help in solving the case.

Living with the Dead

2002

Paris Trout poster
5.5

Paris Trout is a vile Southern bigot. He owns a store and is a loanshark. He often sues people, and so his lawyer, Harry Seagraves, eventually meets Paris' wife Hannah. A former schoolteacher, she made the mistake of her life when she married Paris, who brutalizes her. Soon Paris goes beyond the overgenerous bounds of what a man in his position can get away with even in the segregated South, leading to a spiral of perverse insanity.

Paris Trout

1991

The Abduction of Kari Swenson poster
6.0

Based on the shocking true story of Olympic medalist Kari Swenson who was abducted by two "Mountain Men" while jogging in the foothills of the Rockies in Montana.

The Abduction of Kari Swenson

1987

UnCharitable poster
7.0

After three of the most dynamic and successful U.S. charities were shut down by conservative charity watchdogs, destroying lives and cutting off precious resources, many of the top influencers in the field knew something had to be done to overhaul the nonprofit sector. Led by Dan Pallotta, whose record-breaking TED Talk on the subject has inspired leading philanthropists and changemakers, this feature-length documentary directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal exposes the dark side of philanthropy and introduces a radical new way of giving. In a powerful call to action, Uncharitable demands that charities be freed from the traditional sackcloth-and-ashes constraints, so that they can truly change the world.

UnCharitable

2023

Warden of Red Rock poster
5.9

In 1910, John Flinders is warden of Red Rock Territorial Prison, in Arizona. When a condemned man's last request brings Flinders into contact with the man's widow, Flinders finds himself falling in love. Meanwhile, a new convict, Mike Sullivan, turns out to be an old friend of Flinders'. They talk over old times, but it's clear that Sullivan has plans to leave the prison before his time is up. When those plans come to pass, Flinders sets out to re-take his old pal.

Warden of Red Rock

2001

Time Bomb poster
5.4

The Department of Homeland Security receives a threat that a bomb has been set to explode during a sports event in Washington, D.C.

Time Bomb

2006

Grassroots poster
5.2

Grant Cogswell, a liberal music critic decides to run for city council against a popular black incumbent and is assisted by a reporter who recently lost his job. Initially given no chance, things turn dark when Cogswell makes it into the general election. Based on a true story.

Grassroots

2012