-Film bios provided by IFC Films-

About The Cast

Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko)

Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Donnie Darko, a disaffected 80s teen who unsuspectingly becomes a time-travel hero, with a performance that invites audiences into a compelling inner world. Gyllenhaal has already been lauded as one of the most promising young actors in Hollywood today, following his moving performance in October Sky, in which he played Homer Hickman, Jr., a gifted West Virginian teen who seemed destined to repeat his father's harsh life in the coal mines until he turned his attention towards rockets and the skies.

In another departure - this time into romantic comedy - he is currently starring in Walt Disney's Bubble Boy with Swoosie Kurtz and Marley Shelton. His forthcoming films include Miguel Areta's The Good Girl, opposite Jennifer Aniston, in which he plays a troubled young man who thinks he's Holden Caulfield, and Brad Silberling's Baby's in Black, an unlikely love story in which he stars with Dustin Hoffinan, Susan Sarandon and Holly Hunter. Additional upcoming projects include a role in the Untitled Nicole Hollofeener comedy with Catherine Keener and Brenda Blethyn, and Highway, in which he stars with Jared Leto and Selma Blair in the story of a pilgrimage to Seattle in the wake of Kurt Cobain's death.

Gyllenhaal's previous credits include the films Josh and SA.M. and Dangerous Woman with Debra Winger. He also played Billy Crystal's son in the hit film City Slickers and Robin William's son in the highly acclaimed "Bop Gun" episode of the television series "Homicide."

Jena Malone (Gretchen Ross)

16 year-old Jena Malone stars as Gretchen Ross, the new girl in town with a dark past. Malone will also appear this fall in Irwin Winkler's Life as a House starring with Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas and Hayden Christensen.

Malone is already being recognized as one of her generation's most promising screen talents. She has received rave reviews from critics for her efforts in such popular films as Stepmom, Contact and For Love of the Game. Her other film credits include The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, Cheaters and Book of Stars.

Born in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, Malone has amassed an impressive list of credits in a very short time. Her television movies include such high-profile and acclaimed dramas as "Hope," for which she garnered a Golden Globe Award nomination, "The Ballad of Lucy Whipple," "Ellen Foster," "Hidden in America" and "Bastard Out of Carolina." She has also made guest appearances on the television series "Homicide: Life on the Street" and "Chicago Hope."

Drew Barrymore (Ms. Karen Pomeroy/Executive Producer)

Drew Barrymore, who plays the sensitive English teacher Ms. Karen Pomeroy, was instrumental in getting Donnie Darko made.

Barrymore was first introduced to audiences at the age of six in Steven Spielberg's E. T The Extraterrestrial and has since appeared in thirty feature films. Most recently, she starred with Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu in the runaway summer hit Charlie's Angels, which was produced by Barrymore's Flower Films. She will next be seen in Penny Marshall's Riding in Cars with Boys for producer James L. Brooks.

Barrymore starred in and executive produced the hit romantic comedy Never Been Kissed, directed by Raja Gosnell. She also starred in Andy Tennant's Ever After with Angelica Huston, Home Fries for director Dean Parisot, The Wedding Singer with Adam Sandler and Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You. Barrymore also infamously appeared in Wes Craven's horror spoof Scream.

Other film credits include Firestarter, Irreconcilable Differences, for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress, Gun Crazy, for which she was nominated for another Golden Globe, Poison Ivy, Bad Girls, Boys on the Side, Mad Love and Batman Forever.

Mary McDonnell (Rose Darko)

Mary McDonnell is Rose Darko, a suburban mom trying to understand her son's mysterious inner life, which takes a disturbing turn after he's nearly killed in a freak home accident. McDonnell has been widely renowned for her work on stage, film and television. She has twice been nominated for Academy Award and Golden Globe Awards for her memorable performances in Dances With Wolves and Passion Fish. Her diverse film roles also include Lawrence Kasdan's Mumford and Grand Canyon, Independence Day, Mariette in Ecstasy, Blue Chips, Sneakers and John Sayles' acclaimed period drama Matewan.

On television, McDonnell has appeared in such high-profile works as "Oh, Pioneers" for American Playhouse, TNT's adaptation of Arthur Miller's "The American Clock," Showtime's "Evidence of Blood" and the telefilms "That's Life," "For All Time" and "High Society."

McDonnell has starred on Broadway in "Summer and Smoke," "Heidi Chronicles" and "Execution of Justice." He off-Broadway work includes "The Vagina Monologues," "Buried Child," "Still Life" for which she won an Obie Award, "Savage in Limbo," "All Night Long," "Black Angels," "A Weekend Near Madison," "Death of a Miner" and "National Anthem."

Holmes Osborne (Eddie Darko)

Holmes Osborne is Donnie Darko's dad, whose favorite pastime is complaining about Dukakis. A noted character actor, Osborne has been seen in the recent hit Bring It On, Alexander Payne's Election, Paul Schrader's Affliction, Antonio Banderas' Crazy in Alabama, Tom Hanks' That Thing You Do and The Mod Squad. He will next be seen in John Woo's Windtalkers.

Osborne's television credits range from the acclaimed miniseries "From Earth to the Moon" and guest-starring roles on "The X Files," "Seven Days," "Judging Amy," "West Wing," The Practice," "Dharma and Greg" and "E.R."

Katharine Ross (Dr. Lilian Thurman)

Donnie Darko's probing, drug-prescribing shrink is played by Katharine Ross, who has been featured in some of cinema's most classic films. Ross starred with Dustin Hoffman and Ann Bancroft in The Graduate, for which she received a Best Actress Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe Award. She also appeared opposite Paul Newman and Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid with a performance that earned her a BAFTA Award.

Ross most recently appeared opposite her husband, Sam Elliott, in "Conagher" for TNT. Her credits also include Wrong is Right with Sean Connery, The Stepford Wives, The Final Countdown starring with Kirk Douglas, Hellfighters with John Wayne, The Betsy and Voyage of the Damned for which she won a second Golden Globe.

Patrick Swayze (Jim Cunningham)

Patrick Swayze does a satiric turn as Jim Cunningham, a fundamentalist self-help guru who preaches "love not fear." Swayze first gained international attention following his memorable performance as Johnny Castle in the 1987 smash hit Dirty Dancing. He went on to become a major Hollywood star with roles in Ghost opposite Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg, Kathryn Bigelow's

Point Break with Keanu Reeves, Roland Joffe's City of Joy, Father Hood, Three Wishes, Tall Tale and Black Dog. For his performance as Miss Vide Boheme in To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar he received a Golden Globe nomination. Other credits include Francis Coppola's The Outsiders, Steel Dawn and Without a Word, which he also produced and was directed by his wife Lisa Niemi.

Swayze will next be seen as a man who discovers his wife and best friend are having an affair in the romantic comedy Wakin' Up in Reno with Billy Bob Thornton and Charlize Theron. He also stars in the acclaimed Vietnam drama The Green Dragon directed by Tony Bui, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival with Donnie Darko, drawing accolades for Swayze.

Noah Wyle (Dr. Monnitoff)

Noah Wyle, who plays Donnie Darko's influential science teacher Dr. Monnitoff, is best known to television viewers worldwide as Dr. John Carter on the top-rated series "ER." His work on the show has garnered five Emmy nominations and three Golden Globe nominations. Wyle also played the maverick computer entrepreneur Steve Jobs in the Emmy-nominated movie "Pirates of Silicon Valley" for TNT.

His film credits include The Myth of Fingerprints written and directed by Bart Freundlich, which Wyle associate produced; as well as Swing Kids, A Few Good Men, Crooked Hearts and There Goes My Baby.

On stage, Wyle has appeared to rave reviews with Peter Berg in "The 24th Day" at the Coronet

Theater in Los Angeles. He also serves as creative producer for the award winning Blank Theatre

Company, which recently produced "The Why" at the Second Stage Company.

Maggie Gyllenhaal (Elizabeth Darko)

Donnie Darko's Yale-bound slacker sister Elizabeth is played by Jake Gyllenhaal's real-life sister, an accomplished actress who will next be seen in Penny Marshall's Riding in Cars with Boys and Michael Lehmann's 40 Days 40 Nights. Her other film credits include John Waters' Cecil B. Demented, The Photographer and A Dangerous Woman with Debra Winger.

On television, she has appeared in the miniseries "Shake Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story," "The Patron Saint of Liars" and "Shattered Mind." She also appeared in the Los Angeles stage production of "Closer" at the Mark Taper.

James Duval (Frank)

The pivotal Frank is played by James Duval, who will next be seen in Doe Boy, which also premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and James Merendino's Dogma95 film Amerikana. Duval's work ranges from daring independent dramas to blockbuster action thrillers, and includes Gone in Sixty Seconds, The Weekend, Go, SLC Punk, Nowhere, Independence Day, The Doom Generation, How to Make the Cruelest Month, A River Made to Drown In and Totally F**Ed Up.

Beth Grant (Kittie Farmer)

Beth Grant, who plays the comically reactionary Kittie Farmer, most recently appeared in the Michael Bay's epic Pearl Harbor. Her forthcoming projects include the baseball movie The Rookie with Dennis Quaid and the thriller Desert Saints with Keifer Sutherland and Melora Walters.

Grant is a familiar face in film and television, with a lengthy list of extremely diverse roles. She made her feature film debut with a small part in Rain Man, then went on to appear in such feature films as Flatliners, White Sands, Love Field, Speed, City Slickers II, Welcome Home Roxy Carmichael Child's Play II, Safe, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, A Time to Kill, A Thousand Acres, Lawn Dogs, Doctor Doolittle, Sordid Lives (starring with Delta Burke and Bonnie Bedelia) and Dance With Me, among others. Her television movies include "To Dance with Olivia," "Norma Jean & Marilyn," "Overkill: The Aileen Wuornos Story," "Switched at Birth" and "Don't Tell Her It's Me." She also starred as Thelma Wainright on the series "Delta."

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