Jake Gyllenhaal finds sister Maggie’s secret message on 'The Late Show'

Maggie Gyllenhaal hid a sweet surprise for her brother Jake in the arm of Stephen Colbert’s sofa on The Late Show this week.

The 48-year-old director, who cast Jake for the first time in her new film The Bride!, appeared on the show the night before her famous sibling. 

In a playful twist, she snuck a note for him into the Ed Sullivan Theater couch.

Host Stephen Colbert teased Jake about the gesture, saying, “Your sister left you a present.” Jake admitted the note was cryptic; it simply read, “You’re a beast.”

The inside joke has roots in Maggie’s Broadway experience. Jake explained, “I went into her dressing room for opening night and wrote, ‘You’re a beast.’ We write it on each other’s mirrors; she’s written it on my mirror every opening night.”

Jake also shared how Maggie’s approach to support and community inspired The Bride!: “I think that’s part of what her movie is about—seeing that energy in each other and experiencing it together, like at a rock concert or going to the movies.”

This marks the siblings’ first collaboration since the 2001 cult classic Donnie Darko. Maggie called working with Jake a joy, told People: “Honestly, I wish I could give you some more drama, but it was such a pleasure. Watching him on set and on screen had me laughing so hard I was crying. It was just a delight to work with him.”