Talented and charming Jared Leto is one of the most popular celebrities today. How does he manage to shine on stage and in films at the same time, and who was he before he became world-famous? Biography of Jared Leto in our article!
Jared Leto is an American actor and musician. He did not have many films, but he literally put his soul into each of them, not everyone is given to get used to his role so much. And Jared’s band “30 Seconds to Mars” is one of the most popular in the whole world.
Name: Jared Joseph Leto
Date of birth: December 26, 1971
Occupation: actor, musician, director
Zodiac Sign: Capricorn
Height: 175
Marital status: not married
Childhood and youth
Jared Joseph Leto was born December 26, 1971, in Bossier City, Louisiana. The boy became the second child in the family, he has an older brother – Shannon. Jared and Shannon’s father left them, so Constance’s mother raised the children herself for a while, and then married a second time to Carl Leto. The stepfather adopted the boys and gave them his last name. Although he and Constance ended up getting divorced as well.
Leto has two blood brothers from his own father, who were born in his second marriage, which also did not work out, after the divorce, the man committed suicide. The adoptive father also married a second time and adopted the girl of his new wife. So the Leto brothers had a half-sister – Melissa. Now Shanonne and Jared do not communicate with their brothers and sister.
Raising her sons, Constance tried her best to instill in them a love for art and creativity. Little Jared Leto was an active child, very developed, and smart. Leto’s stepfather worked in the media and the family traveled a lot, so Jared has many vivid childhood memories. Jared started making money on his own at the age of 12. The boy decided to go to work as a dishwasher in a small diner. There he worked for 4 years and then became a doorman.
After graduating from high school, Jared Leto decided to devote his life to art and entered the University of the Arts in Philadelphia to study painting. Soon Jared became interested in cinema and transferred to the University of Fine Arts in New York. He was especially interested in directing.
Film career
Jared Leto played his first role in his short film Crying Joy, he also wrote the script for the film himself. After graduating from university, the young man decided to try his luck in Los Angeles. After several auditions, the aspiring actor was offered a small role in the TV series Camp Wilder.
Popularity Jared brought the main role in the TV series “My So-Called Life” (1994). Despite the fact that the series was short-lived, with only 19 episodes, it was included in the list of “The 100 Best TV Shows of All Time” and was awarded prestigious awards. Jared’s co-star Claire Danes won a Golden Globe for her role.
Jared Leto and Claire Danes in My So-Called Life
After such a successful project, the actor began to be invited to feature films. The first was the film “Cool and Nutty”, where Jared Leto and Alicia Silverstone played the main roles. The next was the role in the drama “Patchwork” with Winona Ryder in the title role.
Then Jared literally recaptured the role from Tom Cruise in Prefontaine (1997). This is a biopic about the tragic story of American runner Steve Prefontaine. The athlete’s sister was very impressed with the accuracy with which Jared managed to convey the image of Steve.
In 1998, Leto landed a role in The Thin Red Line. On the set, he managed to work with such famous actors as George Clooney, Sean Penn, and Nick Nolte. The film received 7 Oscar nominations.
In the same year, the actor appeared in another film – the thriller Urban Legends. Critics were very skeptical about the film, but at the box office, it collected almost 5 times more than the budget spent.
Jared starred in the cult film Fight Club (1999). During filming, he dyed his hair white, the pseudonym of his hero, “Angel Face,” fit perfectly into this image. Then Leto played minor roles in the films Girl, Interrupted and American Psycho.
In 2000, one of the most famous films in the actor’s career, Requiem for a Dream, was released. Darren Aronofsky’s psychological drama tells the tragic story of four heroes whose life crossed out addiction.
In order to convey the image of his hero as accurately as possible, Jared Leto lost a lot of weight and found friends among Brooklyn drug addicts. The images turned out to be very realistic, and the film is a true cult, which he definitely did not have different viewers.
The next project, in which Jared Leto participated, was the thriller Panic Room. On the set, he worked with already familiar director David Fincher and actress Jodie Foster.
Then there were the films “Alexander” and “Lord of War”, in which the actor also performed well and received only favorable reviews from critics.
For his next role, Jared Leto had to put on a lot of weight. He played John Lennon’s killer, Mark Chapman, in Chapter 27. It was not easy – in order to convey the image as much as possible, it was necessary to recover by 27 kg. Given the fact that Summer is a vegetarian, he had to sit on a special diet.
After filming, the actor returned to his former firm. To lose weight, for several days Jared “ate” water with lemon juice, adding maple syrup and cayenne pepper to it.
In 2009, the audience saw the actor in the film “Mr. Nobody”. The role was also difficult, Jared had to show as many as 9 versions of his character’s life. The actor admits that this experience was unforgettable and he is glad that he took part in the creation of such a film.
After filming, the actor temporarily stopped his acting career, devoting more time to the music. After 4 years, the audience again saw Jared on the screens. The actor’s first role after returning was very specific, he appeared in the image of a transsexual drug addict in the film “Dallas Buyers Club”.
For the role, Jared again mocked himself and lost 13 kg. The actor got used to the role as much as possible, his shooting partner Matthew McConaughey said that even after turning off the cameras, he saw that very character of Ryan, and not Jared. Such sacrifices were not in vain, Leto won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Then he returned to music.
The return of the actor to the big cinema was shocking again. In 2016, DC Comics released Suicide Squad, starring Jared Leto as the Joker. As always, the actor tried to literally become his hero. This time he mocked his colleagues – he threw a live mouse at Margot Robbie and dragged a dead pig to the site. Everyone was just horrified. However, the audience did not take the film to the highest level.
In 2017, Leto played a mad scientist in Blade Runner 2049. And in 2018, we could see the actor in the movie The Outsider.
Musical career
In addition to his acting career, Jared Leto is also a musician. Together with brother Shannon, they founded their rock band 30 Seconds to Mars in 1998.
In the band, Jared acts as the band’s frontman and guitarist. He independently writes music and lyrics for his songs. His brother Shannon is a drummer.
In 2002 the band released their first album 30 Seconds to Mars. Three years later, the second album was released. Serious difficulties arose with the third album, the matter even went to court. The band was sued by the record company. The main accusation was that the musicians were delaying the recording of the album and causing losses to the company. Soon the matter was resolved successfully and the album nevertheless saw the world in 2009.
For another 4 years, fans have been waiting for the release of the fourth album – “Love Lust Faith + Dreams”. In 2013, another significant event for the musicians took place – one of their singles was played on the International Space Station.
In 2018, the group recorded their fifth album, America. In the new album, the musicians tried to change the sound style. The band’s usual style was alternative rock, but this time they added a touch of the art-pop genre to the album.
Jared’s directing skills also came in handy in his musical career. All the videos that “30 Seconds to Mars” shot was directed by him under the pseudonym Bartholomew Cubbins.
Personal life
Today, Jared Leto is one of the most eligible suitors in Hollywood. He had many novels, but none of them ended in a happy marriage.
Jared Leto’s first public relationship began in 1991 with actress Soleil Moon Fry. The relationship lasted a year, and then the actors still broke up.
Jared Leto and Cameron Diaz began dating in 1999. They were together for 4 whole years and it seemed that the couple was about to announce their engagement. But alas, this did not happen. In 2003 they separated. The couple did not disclose the reason for the breakup.
The actor’s next relationship was with colleague Scarlett Johansson. The love lasted about a year, but never became something more. The actors remained friends.
Jared Leto has been repeatedly credited with an affair with Ashley Olsen. But in fact, there is no and there was no relationship between them, they are just good friends, Ashley herself stated this in her interviews.
In 2008, everyone started talking about Jared’s new romance with Paris Hilton, but there was no official confirmation of this. Then Leto had a short relationship with Nina Senior, Chloe Bartoli, model Amber Atherton.
In 2016, Jared Leto began dating Russian model Valeria Kaufman. The couple was first noticed on a joint holiday with friends, and then they increasingly began to appear together. But the couple did not give any official statements about the novel.
Filmography of Jared Leto
- 1994 – My so-called life
- 1994 – Cool and crazy
- 1995 – Quilt
- 1996 – The Last of the Great Kings
- 1997 – Prefontaine
- 1997 – Roller coaster
- 1998 – Basil
- 1998 – Urban legends
- 1998 – The Thin Red Line
- 1999 – Black and White
- 1999 – Fight Club
- 1999 – Interrupted Life
- 2000 – American Psycho
- 2000 – Sex, drugs and the Sunset Strip
- 2000 – Requiem for a Dream
- 2002 – Highway
- 2002 – Panic room
- 2002 – Phone booth
- 2004 – Alexander
- 2005 – Lord of War
- 2006 – Lonely Hearts
- 2007 – Chapter 27
- 2009 – Mr. Nobody
- 2013 – Dallas Buyers Club
- 2016 – Suicide Squad
- 2017 – Blade Runner 2049
- 2017 – Outsider
- 2018 – Batman
- 2019 – Morbius the Living Vampire
