Jared Leto Breaks Down His Career, from 'Dallas Buyers Club' to 'House of Gucci'

I was studying to be, first of all,

I was studying to be an artist.

My original plan was, I'll drop out of college,

out of art school and I'll become an actor.

And then it'll be easier to get a job as a director.

It worked out in a different way, but still worked out.

That was really the beginning for me.

And I've always loved directors that

had really unique vision, auteurs, so to speak.

David Fincher, Darren Aronofsky, Oliver Stone, Ridley Scott,

a lot of really incredible directors I've had

the opportunity to work with.

I'm Jared Leto, and this is the timeline of my career.

[playful music]

Let me tell you something.

All of my life people have said to me,

You're too small, Pre.

You're not fast enough, Pre.

Give up your foolish dreams, Steve.

Steve Prefontaine.

I believe it was my second movie that I ever did.

And there were two directors that had made

a film called Hoop Dreams, which won the Academy Award.

I, again, fell in love with that opportunity.

It was physical, it was emotional.

It was a really, you know, legendary character.

I get runners come up to me to this day that

are so passionate about that story and Steve and the film.

And I was just interested in a deep dive.

And I've always been interested in that.

I like the immersive quality. I learn a lot from it.

I enjoy the work and the challenge of that.

And I found it really rewarding.

But you know what? They forgot something.

I have to win. There's no fallback here.

No great stride, no long legs, nothing!

Television, right?

I mean, if ever there's a TV junkie, it's the old lady.

I figured I owe her a new set anyway,

with all the wear and tear it got from being schlepped

back and forth all day, all the time.

You really love her, don't you?

Yeah, I guess so, you know?

Requiem for a Dream,

just a pivotal experience in my life as an artist,

as a person, and working with Darren and that cast

was incredible, and it changed me.

And I did take a very immersive approach with that project.

And I did what I thought needed to be done because

I had an opportunity in front of me,

and I was willing to do whatever it took,

not to let Darren down,

not to let the other actors down,

not to let Hubert Selby down.

And to take this material and to help bring it to life in

the best way that I knew.

And some of that included, you know,

I was living on the streets in the East Village.

And I spent a lot of time with people that were

in similar circumstances.

And people were really gracious and opened up

their private moments to me in that time.

And we went on a journey together.

It's a story about addiction.

So I kind of surrounded myself and immersed myself

in that world, and it was incredibly informative.

You know, I still have, when I think about it,

I just have this, just this wash of gratitude

that comes over me.

I'm so lucky to have been a part of that film.

And I feel very, very grateful.

I'm Rayon.

Congratulations. Fuck off and go back to your bed.

Relax. I don't bite.

I hadn't made a film in at least five years, going on six.

And things were going better than ever

with 30 Seconds to Mars.

And we had just started playing arenas around the world.

We were selling more tickets than ever before.

We had, you know, finally had a breakout song.

Everything that we'd been fighting for for well

over a decade was finally happening for my brother and I.

So I wasn't really in a hurry to make another film.

I actually honestly was, you know, unofficially retired.

I wasn't looking to make another film and, you know,

at a certain point they believe you and

they just stopped calling.

So I read this little script, you know,

called Dallas Buyers Club and the rest is history.

I don't really seek out or have a mandate that roles have to

be immersive or transformational.

It really, it just happens. It's an intuition.

It's a guttural response to a character in a script.

And then it's a creative idea. I enjoy that kind of process.

And I couldn't imagine that I'd be sitting

here today talking to you and answering a kind

of question like that about, you know,

being someone known for, you know, transformative roles.

I guess you're handsome in a Texas, hick, white trash,

dumb kinda way.

Get the fuck outta here.

You have a gift I'm telling you.

Stop, stop. You're going to make me cry.

When I was sent the House of Gucci script,

it was originally for another part.

And when I read it, I really just connected with Paolo.

He's an artist. So we had a little bit in common.

He's a frustrated artist.

I certainly have felt that in my life.

He's not really seen or heard by the people closest to him.

And he just wants to share his creative vision

with the world.

And he never really gets the opportunity.

And that's a really hard thing for an artist,

that they only thing they want to do is create something

and share it with the world, and they don't

have the chance to do that.

He's a misunderstood guy.

I think if other characters in the film don't

take your character serious, that's great, you know?

I think it gives you something to work against.

And your conflict is the birth of drama,

and drama's what's interesting to watch.

And, you know, Paolo has plenty of all.

I found him to really have a heart of gold,

and to be a lot of fun, and to be quite funny.

I fell in love with his idiosyncrasies, his love of pigeons,

his flair for design, he's a bit of a dandy,

and loves to laugh and to dance and to sing and to create.

And, you know, he really takes a giant bite out of life

and enjoys every single second of it.

If I never made another film again,

I would be completely,

I don't think satisfied is the right word,

but I'd be certainly really grateful.

Working with Ridley Scott,

having Al Pacino play my father and my partner in crime

was just so fulfilling that, you know, I don't know.

Maybe there's another retirement coming soon. We'll see.

How can they miss you if you never go away, right?