Jake Gyllenhaal Reveals Sweet Lessons He’s Learned as an Uncle: ‘It’s About What [My Nieces] Want’ (Exclusive)

Jake Gyllenhaal is admittedly a by-the-book kind of guy. 

Research and discipline have long been the foundation of his work on screen and stage. But as an an uncle to his sister Maggie Gyllenhaal’s two daughters with her husband Peter Saarsgard, the star has learned to embrace the art of letting go.

“In the movie industry, things work on time and there are standards and rules. So I take comfort in that, and I think I’m a pretty neat person,” Gyllenhaal, 42, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. But off-camera, Uncle Jake just goes with it. The Oscar nominee recently penned a new whimsical children’s book, The Secret Society of Aunts and Uncles (on sale Sept. 5), inspired by his own experience. Initially, he was just like the tale’s Uncle Mo, perpetually towing the parents’ line. 

“The kids need to go to bed at a certain time, right? And then they’re happier in the morning,” he posits. But spending quality time with Ramona, 16, and Gloria, 11, “has nothing to do with any of that,” he says, “and I learned that from my nieces.” 

In uncle mode, he says, “it’s really about listening to them and what they want, and you’re allowed to do it. If they want to stay up, we stay up. If they want ice cream before dinner, we do it. So that’s the best part of the job.”

Jake Gyllenhaal’s first children’s book, “The Secret Society of Aunts and Uncles”.

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And with his nieces, Gyllenhaal has become particularly adept at expediting requests in the kitchen.

“I love to cook and they think I’m a really good cook so I play that as much as I can,” he says with a grin. “I call up and I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m coming over. What do you want to eat for dinner? I’ll cook anything you want. I’m your personal chef.'” 

What’s on the menu? “Generally, it’s a lot of mashed potatoes and pastas and stuff,” he says. “It’s pretty easy. They’re a big fan of the way I cook steak. It’s really whatever they want. And that’s fun for me.”

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Gyllenhaal, who loved The Magic School Bus series as a child, planted “little Easter eggs” in The Secret Society of Aunts and Uncles, co-written with his childhood friend Greta Caruso. Uncle Mo is named for Ramona; a strong-minded Great-Aunt Gloria pays homage to his youngest niece, while the little boy at the center of story, Leo, borrowed his moniker from “my dog,” he says.  

The tale aims to share what Gyllenhaal has learned about “one of the most important relationships in my life,” he says. But shining any sort of spotlight on the girls initially gave him pause.

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Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

“I was a bit nervous because their privacy is so important to me,” he says. “But they were so excited that there was a book and really moved. And also my sister was too, which really meant a lot to me. I sent her drafts to read and she cried at all of them. She’s a tough audience. So it’s a book also about my sister and my brother-in-law, who’ve raised two incredible girls.”

For more about Gyllenhaal, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE.

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Source: HIS Education