Jared Leto

from Essential Magazine April 2022

Marcos Granda – Five Michelin Stars

Jared Leto is very kindly offering to go to his hotel room to fetch that now famous green Gucci military coat he wore to the Suicide Squad premiere. “A piece of art like that should be universally shared.” I politely refuse his generosity… when I really should have accepted.

The Oscar-winning rock star is decidedly casual today, in a grey t-shirt, and frayed, ripped black jeans. His hair is slicked back and tidy, a stark contrast to the flowing biblical locks he sported when winning his first Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club.

His hypnotic eyes are dazzlingly intense in person and those youthful features contradict his half century of years. Apparently, a result of a vegan diet and sleep.

Boasting a reserved humour, the Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman is polite but seems a little uncomfortable. He shouldn’t be; following a quiet 2020 – like the whole of the rest of the world, right? – Leto has been straight back into full throttle mode over the past two years.

The Little Things has already rejected the notion that box office movies can’t break even during a pandemic, while House of Gucci proved to be a sumptuous biographical crime thriller that encapsulated an era decorated in discrete excess. And even while the original Justice League fell on deaf ears, bringing the Joker across from the Suicide Squad project proved a masterstroke. Indeed, pundits labelled his portrayal the best thing about the movie – one of the major revisions with Zach back at the controls, having had to bail on the much-troubled first movie back in 2017. The reprisal, coming at a cost of $70million, was an expensive adventure, but one that in creative and cinematic terms appears capable of completing the circle. ›

Now, Leto returns as Dr Michael Morbius, a scientist suffering from a rare blood disease whose attempts to cure himself afflict him with a form of transgenic vampirism. He subsequent gains superhuman abilities.

The Louisiana-born actor is also appearing in Apple TV+ series WeCrashed alongside Anne Hathaway, which charts the rise of WeWork, one of the world’s most valuable start-ups.

Talking me though life and love, Leto – who previously dated Cameron Diaz for three years – reflects on his method approach, and why he was glad to put premature Hollywood retirement on hold. ›

What did you bring to the role of Dr Morbius? Mostly… myself. This was an incredible role for me because I could actually reach deep inside myself, rather than having to totally step into the shoes of someone I didn’t know.

I have been through my own issues with health, mental wellbeing and more, and the challenge that confronted me was very different to what I am used to. It’s usually a case of immersing yourself in someone else, but this time I found the need to be honest with myself and truly bring myself to the role. That must have helped the portrayal though, in that it was easier… Easier from an acting level, but considerably more difficult from the perspective of having to be honest with myself.

As an actor, unless you are playing yourself, you don’t expect to find so much of yourself in a role, so in that sense it was a shock and something I needed to give myself time to come to terms with.

Were you able to go into your own method acting bubble for this one? Not so much. There was too much of myself in Michael – I didn’t need to go method.

What does ‘going method’ get you? For me, it’s nothing more than a way to concentrate. When you shoot a movie, there’s so many distractions, so much happening, a lot of moving parts and staying in character is the only way I can maintain that tunnel vision.

So keeping my focus on the end destination, and being committed, is essential. I really like to envelop myself as much as possible in this new life, and go as deep as I can because the further you go, the bigger the reward. Also, I want to be able to get to a certain emotional state, and for me, it’s easier to stay there than continuously work my way back. Does it even go so far as you think you’re that character? I never lose touch with my own reality. If I did that, I think I may be potentially in the wrong career. Could be dangerous [laughs].

What is it that keeps you coming back, when in the past you’ve spoken about retirement and getting away from the industry? For me, it’s that idea that you can go back to being free, carefree… to even feeling like a kid, where there are no rules.

You know what it’s like – if you want to do something, you do it; if you want to say something, you say it. It’s only as you grow up, you learn what is acceptable and what is expected of you so to revert to that simple, boundaryless part of your life and doing it in this environment is remarkable.

You spoke in the past about retiring after playing the Joker… as if it was going to be the pinnacle of your career and you felt you couldn’t go any further. I think when you see who has gone before you… and if you think you have climbed to a level where you put yourself in the bracket of Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, Joaquin Phoenix, those legends… then sometimes you do ask yourself if you can go any further, and that’s what that comment was about. What

impressed me most was that we took the Joker on a new path, and imitation was not an option.

And with that, came a liberty and freedom to move and say what we wanted. Yes, there was 75 years of material – which I only discovered in doing my own research – 75 years created by visual, creative artists for television, film and animation, to constantly fall back on if we ever needed it but I relied more on my imagination.

I still think I could have retired altogether after playing him. He remains one of my greatest achievements. There was a point where I thought, if I didn’t go back, I never would. I had a two-year spell where my agents kept sending scripts. And then, they just started to believe that I was serious. And they stopped coming. And you fall out of favour, maybe.

But then I fell in love with Rayon [from Dallas Buyers], and I knew that if I didn’t play her, there was a chance I might never go back to acting and never make another film. My life was very fulfilled and wasn’t lacking.

At that time, when away, I learned a lot about myself, about life, about humanity. It revolutionised my mind and the way I interacted with myself, and with others.

So was playing the Joker bigger than your Oscar win? I said ‘one of my greatest achievements’ [laughs]. I’m lucky in that I’ve had a couple. ›

Most would consider an Oscar win their crowning glory. I’m very proud of that moment. Very proud. But I think getting accolades and praise, it only means something if the people you love are involved and that meant the world to me.

Are you still stopped on the street for My So Called Life? [laughs]. Yes, it does happen. Over 25 years ago and only one season – it’s crazy that people are still talking about it. Yes, it’s pretty remarkable. It impacted a lot of people; it was ahead of its time. And I’ll always be grateful for the launch pad because without it I probably wouldn’t be sitting with you today. e

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