Stephen Gyllenhaal on AllMovie

A director with a reputation for taking a very unique perspective to the small screen, Stephen Gyllenhaal's name may be even more well known for his two children, Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal, both of whom have achieved success in the acting world. After graduating from Trinity College in Hartford, CT, Stephen Gyllenhaal began his career by working on industrial films in New York. After a little associate producing and editing, he directed his first short film, Exit 10, in 1979. He soon afterward made his first mark on television, directing the TV movie What Are Friends For? TV was obviously Gyllenhaal's strong suit, and he moved to Los Angeles with his family in 1980 to pursue a career in the industry. His reputation for the small screen would follow some time later, but first he directed the action film Certain Fury with Tatum O'Neal, Irene Cara, and Peter Fonda. The 1985 feature was a stinker at the box office, but Gyllenhaal's TV career was soon off and running, as he directed a string of TV movies stretching on into the '90s including Hothouse, Promised a Miracle, A Killing in a Small Town, Shattered Mind, and countless others. His work paired him with actors like Barbara Hershey, Heather Locklear, and Ed Harris, and made his name synonymous with television. During this time, Gyllenhaal also directed a select number of feature films, such as 1993's A Dangerous Woman with Debra Winger and 1995's Losing Isaiah with Jessica Lange. He also began directing select episodes of popular TV series, which he continued doing into the new millennium with shows like Felicity, The Shield, Robbery Homicide Division, and Everwood. Gyllenhaal also signed on as regular director for a series of critically acclaimed but short-lived series such as Wasteland, L.A. Doctors, The $treet, and Lucky.