Stephen Gyllenhaal

Segueing to the big screen, Gyllenhaal debuted with the teen film "Certain Fury" (1984) and followed with the underrated thriller "The New Kids" (1985). After concentrating on the small screen, he returned to theatrical releases with the offbeat but intriguing study of a teacher who works through his life crisis in the classroom "Waterdance" (1992). Gyllenhaal teamed with his screenwriter wife Naomi Foner for the less successful study of a mentally disabled woman who encounters a drunken handyman, "A Dangerous Woman" (1993), and the child custody courtroom drama "Losing Isaiah" (1995). In 1998, he steered an impressive cast (including Billy Bob Thornton, Kelly Lynch and newcomer Ryan Phillippe) in "Homegrown," a drama about marijuana farmers.