Gyllenhaal uses 'complex powers'

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Maggie Gyllenhaal is the daughter of Emmy-nominated director Stephen Gyllenhaal and Oscar-nominated writer-producer Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal. She played the sister of her real-life brother, actor Jake Gyllenhaal, in the 2001 cult favorite "Donnie Darko."

That's quite a pedigree. Yet the actress, who turns 29 Thursday, is building a career in Hollywood that's all her own.

Her latest film, "Stranger Than Fiction," opens in theaters today. She plays Ana Pascal, an independent baker being audited by IRS agent Harold Crick, played by Will Ferrell. Although Harold has a lot going on in his life -- he can hear his every move narrated by an unseen author (Emma Thompson) -- he can't help but fall for the saucy chef who tells him to "Get bent" when they first meet.

"My character was trying to wake him up, shake some life into him," Miss Gyllenhaal explains, speaking by telephone.

Is there an actress who would be a better choice for such a nervy role?

Miss Gyllenhaal made her breakthrough in 2002's "Secretary." She played the title character alongside James Spader as a lawyer who starts a sadomasochistic relationship with his disturbed employee.

"I adore her. How could I not?" says "Secretary" director Steven Shainberg, in town recently to promote his upcoming film "Fur."

"She has complex powers," he says of the actress.

After years as one of the hippest darlings of the indie scene -- in 2002 alone, she also appeared in "Adaptation" and "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" -- Miss Gyllenhaal has started taking on roles in larger films. Earlier this year, she played Allison Jimeno, the pregnant wife of a police officer trapped in the rubble in Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center."

She hasn't purposely tried to take on more "Hollywood" pictures: "Whether it's a studio movie or not is less important than what the material's like," the actress says. "I choose movies and roles based on what I feel I have to work with and go through."