Stephen Roark Gyllenhaal, born October 4, 1949, in Cleveland, is a renowned American film director and poet. As the father of actors Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, he has made a significant impact in the entertainment industry.
Gyllenhaal's directorial career began with the film adaptation of Pete Dexter's novel Paris Trout, which earned him a DGA Award and five Emmy Award nominations. He then directed Family of Spies, which received two Golden Globe Award nominations and an Emmy nomination, in 1990.
In 1992, Gyllenhaal directed the feature film Waterland, starring Jeremy Irons and Ethan Hawke. Since 1993, he has primarily focused on television directing, including an episode of the ABC series Twin Peaks, and an episode of NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street, which starred his son Jake, then 14 years old.
Gyllenhaal has directed numerous episodes of various TV series, such as Numb3rs, The Mentalist, Hawthorne, Army Wives, Rectify, and Blue Bloods. In 2011, he directed Girl Fight, which starred Anne Heche and earned him a DGA Nomination for outstanding directorial achievement in movies for television.
As a poet, Gyllenhaal has been published in literary journals like Prairie Schooner and Nimrod. His first collection of poetry, Claptrap: Notes from Hollywood, was released in June 2006 by Cantarabooks.
In 2013, Gyllenhaal directed the Lifetime TV movie An Amish Murder, starring Neve Campbell, based on a backdoor pilot titled Sworn to Silence. He is also working on a documentary about dream interpretation, titled Exquisite Continent.
Gyllenhaal was a member of the "Social Impact Advisory Board" of the San Diego International Film Festival in 2019, alongside Susan Sarandon and Cecelia Peck.
