Jared Leto’s breakout role was in the cult TV series, My So-Called Life playing the teenage heartthrob, Jordan Catalano. He then took on roles that challenged that image by playing characters with dramatic physical characteristics, such as Fight Club where he was beaten to a pulp, Requiem for a Dream for which he lost 30 pounds, and Chapter 27 for which he gained 60 pounds. He has, for the most part, focused on art house films such as, Mr. Nobody and Dallas Buyers Club which won him a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. He is a thoughtful actor, who puts a lot of research into his roles. He seems to really want to understand the characters he is portraying, to present them in a way that people can form their own opinions about who they are.
Jared Leto completely immerses himself in a role when he is playing outrageous characters such as the Joker. His role in The Little Things is no different and his character Albert Sparma says, “And we had to dig around a bit and ask those questions, like how does he know what he knows if he didn’t do it if he did do it how does he get away with it? So all of these things that we had to address we almost had to write a second script alongside the first one.
“Creating Albert Sparma was a huge undertaking; from the top of the head to the toes. It was a lot of attention paid to every aspect of this and I initially turned down the role because I didn’t really want to play a suspect or a villain.
The voice was a really important key into this guy, the way that he spoke, his rhythm and the way that he walked, the way that he took up space in a room, his sense of humor, those are really important things, the way he interacted with people, the way that he invaded people’s personal space or challenged people was really an important part as well. Incredibly fascinating to take on a very difficult role to let go of at the end of the day, it was quite intense”, he said.
The Little Things centers around a detective played by Denzel Washington. It is directed by John Lee Hancock, whose recent films include The Highwaymen and The Founder.
John Lee Hancock and Leto collaborated closely on this unique character.
“I spoke to John Lee Hancock and he really wanted to walk down the same path as me, which was to create something that was really unique, something that was transformative, something that was very physical as well as emotional and that’s exactly what we did. So I knew from that moment we were off to the races and I’m really grateful to him for giving me that space to be brave enough to fail from time to time and to be as creative as I could. And he gave me that so I’m very grateful to him.
“I have different eye color, a different nose and teeth, and prosthetics and my body weight and my walk is completely different so for me it was really challenging but fascinating to step into these shoes of Albert Sparma,” said Leto.
He has acted with some of the best but he was particularly honored to work with Denzel Washington.
“It was a dream for me. I played a very intense character and someone who interacted with people in a very unique way. From the very first day when I did a little improvisation with Denzel Washington, when I threw the ball to him he caught it and he threw it back to me in such an amazing way it just blew my mind.”
Leto has earned his place in the worlds of film and music. He is an explorer but firmly understands how fortunate he is to be in the company of people who let him continue his journey and see just where his characters might lead.
His band, 30 Seconds to Mars, has toured much of the world and has fans everywhere. They have collaborated with other artists, such as Kanye West, and raised money for causes such as Habitat for Humanity and the 2010 Haiti Earthquake.