Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Gyllenhaal said he has 20/1250 vision, and had been born with a lazy eye.

Gyllenhaal said that while the lazy eye had resolved itself naturally, he still remains legally blind, and that it has been “advantageous” to his acting career.

"I like to think it's advantageous," he said.

"I've never known anything else. When I can't see in the morning, before I put on my glasses, it's a place where I can be with myself."

Gyllenhaal said that having to take off his glasses makes him more in tune with his characters.

In 2016, Gyllenhaal spoke to The Inquirer about being teased at school for his thick glasses.

“I have always had bad eyesight, so I am legally blind, basically without my contact lenses or glasses," he said.

"So, I always had those big glasses that I wore, which gave way to really big, weird eyes – which have been very fortuitous in this business. I always remember feeling almost physically separate, because I couldn't see well.”