Jake Gyllenhaal says his parents divorcing when he was 30 "changed the dynamic" in his life

He said: "I couldn’t really pinpoint where that happened but there were a number of things that happened in my life, my parents got divorced when I was 30, after many many years and I think my whole family sort of started to shift and change as things do when those things happen - when people express their truth it allows other people to do that. I think it has those reverberations.

"My parents after many years made that decision and I think that changed the dynamic and truth spilled in, in a different way than it had. They went off and did things in their own lives and established the lives that maybe they had always wanted in an interesting way, which allowed, I think, me to do the same thing. It’s a wonderful argument, I think, to parenting in that way, when parents are doing what they love in particular. And also loving their children but that’s a part of it, doing what you love and it allows your children at whatever age to express that truth."

Despite his parents' split, Jake feels very "comforted" by his family.

He added to The Huffington Post: "I would say the relatively obvious things, my family does. Comfort in life is a complicated, long answer.

"My work also gives me comfort in that when you feel like you are expressing yourself, who you really are and what you really want to do in your work, it only reflects back in your life. My friends and all the normal things give me comfort ... Like a warm bath, is that what you’re asking? I know you’re looking for specifics."