Jake Gyllenhaal thrills fans, picks up award at Zurich film festival

Actor Jake Gyllenhaal on the green carpet of Zurich Film Festival and receiving the ‘Golden Eye Award’ on stage (Photo grabbed from Reuters video)

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND (Reuters) — Hollywood actor Jake Gyllenhaal met scores of excited fans on the green carpet of the Zurich Film Festival on Tuesday (October 3) before picking up a Golden Eye award recognizing his achievements in film.

The U.S. actor, known for roles in movies including ‘Donnie Darko’ and ‘Brokeback Mountain’, signed autographs and posed for selfies with fans ahead of the gala screening of his latest film ‘Stronger’.

The film revisits the infamous Boston Marathon Bombing which killed three people and wounded more than 260 near the marathon’s finish line in April 2013.

Gyllenhaal plays Jeff Bauman, who lost both his legs in the incident but was also a key eyewitness to the brothers who were behind the bombing.

Bauman wrote about his recuperation in a memoir “Stronger” on which the film is based and is seen as an icon of survival in his native Boston.

Thirty-six-year-old Gyllenhaal joked onstage when he picked up his Golden Eye award how he had needed a new eye for years due to his poor eyesight.

The Zurich Film Festival runs until October 8th.