Interview: Jared Leto on playing Marvel antihero Morbius, WeWork CEO Adam Neumann alongside Anne Hathaway in WeCrashed, and starring opposite Lady Gaga in House of Gucci
- Is 2022 Jared Leto’s greatest transformation yet? After turning 50, the notorious chameleon is back playing both a Marvel vampire and tech CEO
- House of Gucci co-star Al Pacino didn’t recognise Leto on set – after he warned director Ridley Scott he would take his role as Paolo Gucci ‘as far as’ he could
Known for the chameleon-esque transformations he routinely submits himself to, Jared Leto knows few bounds when it comes to creating distinctive screen characters, including his Oscar-winning portrayal of an AIDS sufferer in Dallas Buyers Club (2013) and his manic turn as the Joker in Suicide Squad (2016). Most recently, he played a bumbling fashion company heir in House of Gucci (2021) for which he controversially chose to use heavy prosthetic make-up that rendered him totally unrecognisable to audiences.
His new sci-fi film, Morbius, sees Leto take on yet another shape-shifting role, that of a doctor who turns himself into a vampire in an attempt to cure himself of a rare blood condition.
“Morbius is a big, giant fun action, adventure, fantasy popcorn movie,” Leto said. “It was kind of the perfect role for me … Morbius gave me the opportunity to [play] this character that makes three pretty significant transformations. He starts off very, very sick searching to cure his disease … then he finds it and becomes [more] powerful and stronger than he’s ever been before. Then there is another transformation that happens. Honestly, I enjoyed it quite a bit.”
The film is directed by Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) and co-stars Michael Keaton, Adria Arjona, Matt Smith, Jared Harris and Tyrese Gibson. It’s yet another showcase for Leto’s extraordinary capacity to disappear into a role, the mark of a true “character actor”, who leaves little trace of his own personality or his past work.
Perhaps that’s why he lacks the so-called star appeal of lead actors that audiences reliably identify with time and time again. But Leto, who turned 50 in December but looks at least 10 years younger, insists on treating every role as a singular experience.
“It’s not easy at times, at the end of the day, when you try to get rid of your character,” he says. “You learn to find a way to relax and take some distance. But the thrill for me is to go as far as I can to inhabit an intense role. On some films, it’s literally like walking on the edge of an abyss …”
To play Paolo Gucci, Leto underwent a total physical and personal transformation – to the extent that when co-star Al Pacino first met him on the set, Pacino thought he was one of the extras and dismissed him with a wave of his hand.
Meditation allows you detach yourself from a lot of the distractions and things that often get in the way of your life and it enables you to stay in the present. It’s my way of achieving inner peace and silence
Meditation allows you detach yourself from a lot of the distractions and things that often get in the way of your life and it enables you to stay in the present,” adds Leto. “It’s my way of achieving inner peace and silence.
Apparently Leto’s appearance in House of Gucci – which the real-life Gucci family criticised for its less-than-flattering portrayal – has not interfered with his ongoing collaboration with the legendary Italian fashion house. For the past eight years he has served as the face of Gucci’s Guilty fragrance and a Gucci ambassador on red carpets from the Met Gala to movie premieres, as well as modelling in its major runway shows. Leto is also a close friend of Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s dazzling creative director.