Being Jared Leto: The actor's most spectacular screen transformations

At 52, Jared Leto still loves... acting. The actor is known for his creative fearlessness. Immersing himself in the role, he drops or gains weight, or dye his hair, or change his face, becoming completely unrecognizable. Instead of the common Western "method" based on Stanislavsky's system, Leto prefers to use the word "immersion". "My whole career is about immersion, which is an opportunity in itself. For me, characters are living, breathing people. I know they're not, but of course I get attached to them and I can be sad that it won't happen again." Even his coworkers say they don't often get to see Leto in his own right on set. According to Anne Hathaway, who played his wife in the plot of the series "It didn't work", Jared himself, she began to meet only the last few weeks before the premiere of the series. In this review of the most spectacular transformations of the Hollywood actor.

"Morbius" (2022).

Leto couldn't turn down the chance to turn into a living vampire - the main anti-hero in Sony Pictures' new movie based on the Marvel movie universe. "I love that the character will be appearing on a movie screen for the first time. I've always been interested in transformation, and this is a way to explore that territory in a big Marvel movie. It was impossible to say no. Sure, he didn't drink blood or grind his teeth for the role of Dr. Michael Morbius, but he did talk a lot to doctors and patients suffering from blood disorders.

«WeCrashed» (2022)

In the Apple TV+ project, Jared played Adam Newton, the founder of the co-working company WeWork. The actor personally met with the prototype before filming, and for the final reincarnation used facial prosthetics and an Israeli accent, on which he had to work hard. Every Saturday, he met five Israeli natives for dinner to listen to live speech. At some point, however, Leto's other character, Paolo Gucci from the drama House of Gucci (2022), began to interfere. "A couple times, near the end of filming 'It Didn't Work,' Paolo's (accent) started to come out. It was weird. I don't know if I was tired or if Paolo was demanding my attention, but it was happening."

«House of Gucci» (2022)

To become Paolo, Leto spent six hours in the makeup chair. The bald, overweight hero demanded attention. In particular, from Oscar nominee Joran Lundström, who used a 3D scanner to produce facial overlays. "Normally we apply makeup on set, but Jared wanted us to do it in a separate location and have him appear on set as Paolo Gucci." The transformation was so drastic that Leto didn't recognize Al Pacino's partner. "The first day on the job, I showed up in character, walked up and said: 'Papa,' you know, with that accent. He looked at me and just looked away. I thought, 'Oh, maybe he's a little grumpy, I don't know.' And he said again: "Dad, it's me, Paolo," and he looked away again and said: "Who's that dude?".

"The Devil in the Details" (2021)

For the role of the elusive suspect in a series of murders Albert Sparma Leto, naturally, again turned to makeup artists - he made "other" nose and teeth, as well as changed with contact lenses eye color to brown. Similar to the title of the movie, the transformation of the actor held on the barely perceptible to the eye changes. "I think a lot of people didn't notice them, but together they added a necessary touch to the final result," he noted. According to Jared, he also had to try on about 20 wigs before filming until it was decided to keep his native hair color.

"Suicide Squad" (2016).

This time around, Leto cut and dyed his hair green, shaved off his eyebrows, and got a slew of fake tattoos, including the inscription "Damaged" on his forehead, to transform himself into the most extreme (and controversial) Joker ever. But the transformation into the DC supervillain wouldn't be complete for the actor without sending little "gifts" to his movie partners, Joker-style. Rumor has it that Jared, who played Harley Quinn, handed over a dead rat. "I did a lot of things to create momentum, to create an element of surprise, spontaneity, and really broke down any walls that there might have been. The Joker is someone who doesn't respect personal space or boundaries," he told E!News at the premiere. Leto clarified information about those very "gifts" in 2021: "Any of them were given to make you laugh and create a sense of adventure. I play a guy named the Joker and it's okay to pull pranks. No one was hurt and that's no reason for people on the internet to write crap... At the end of the day, I'm an artist. If I do something risque that you don't like, that's your own business."

"Chapter 27" (2006)

For the role of Mark Chapman, the killer of John Lennon, Leto gained more than 30 pounds. At the end of filming, he could barely walk, and was later diagnosed with gout and told to lose weight immediately. "I'm not sure that was a wise decision," Jared admitted in an interview with The Los Angeles Times. - Recently, a friend of mine was going to gain weight for a role and I did my best to talk him out of it. Even if you lose weight, it doesn't mean it doesn't affect you anymore." That said, the actor knew the weight gain was necessary for his character. "The script wasn't like, 'Page 1: you gain 30 pounds and you feel miserable for two months.' But when I started researching, I realized that this guy's physical condition has a lot to do with who he is."