Jake Gyllenhaal Has Slowly Been Morphing Into Jared Leto for Years, and It's Time We Finally Address It

This celebrity doppelganger will leave you shook

By McKenna Aiello Mar 29, 2017 1:25 AMTags
Jake Gyllenhaal, Jared LetoGetty Images/ E!

Alright, Jake Gyllenhaal and Jared Leto. The jig is officially up. 

Over here at E! News, we're all about celebrity doppelgangers. There's the Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Javier Bardem's of the world, and no one can deny Jessica Chastain and Bryce Dallas Howard share more than just their signature red locks. 

But there's another A-list duo quickly climbing the ranks of borderline creepy look-alikes, and that duo is Jake and Jared. We have reason to believe Jake has tapped into some sort of black magic that has helped him physically transform into the Oscar-winning actor, and it's time the public knows what's up. 

For starters, Jake's path to becoming Jared starts at an early age. Though born nine years after Leto, Gyllenhaal's birthday falls exactly one week before Jared's in the month of December. Sure, it's a stretch, but don't lose faith in us just yet. 

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Celebrity Lookalikes

The two first crossed paths professionally on the set of 2002's Highway, co-starring as best friends on the run from an angry mobster. Sky-high spiky hair was experiencing a moment in Hollywood at the time, and the pair sported nearly identical styles for the drama. 

Jason Merritt/FilmMagic, Walt Disney Pictures

A few years later, Jake took a page out of Jared's Thirty Seconds to Mars days for his role in Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. A shoulder-length lob before lobs were actually a thing? Check. That ran out of dry shampoo but still gotta go out in public look? Jake and Jared's aesthetic. Regardless, #twinning!

Angela Weiss/Getty Images for NBCUniversal, Fotonoticias/WireImage

This brings us to our next piece of evidence: Man buns. One time Jake Gyllenhaal saw Jared Leto wearing army pants, flip flops and a man bun, so Jake Gyllenhaal started wearing army pants, flip flops and a man bun.

(For the record, we have yet to find a photograph of Jake wearing army pants and flip flops, though it is a nice image.)

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Jared Leto’s Perfect Hair
Chuck Zlotnick/Open Road Films, Anne Marie Fox/Focus Features

If there's one thing Leto is known for, it's the art of transforming into a completely unrecognizable version of himself. He dropped upwards of 40 pounds to play an AIDS patient in 2013's Dallas Buyers Club and gained more than 60 pounds for Chapter 27 in 2007. So when Gyllenhaal was cast in 2014's Nightcrawler, you better believe he took some inspiration from his could-be twin brother. 

Jake shed 30 pounds off his frame for his role as a crime-scene videographer, and their resemblance is still uncanny. 

Jenny Anderson/Getty Images, Anthony Harvey/Getty Images

Still not convinced? We leave you with one very recent side-by-side shot of Jake and Jared in all their identical glory.

Consider this case officially closed.