Jared Leto

Jared Joseph Leto (/ˈlɛtoʊ/; born December 26, 1971) is an American actor, singer, songwriter, director, producer, cinematographer, and editer. After starting his career with television appearances in the early 1990s, Leto achieved recognition for his role as Jordan Catalano on the television series My So-Called Life (1994). He made his film debut in How to Make an American Quilt (1995) and received critical praise for his performance in Prefontaine (1997). Leto played supporting roles in The Thin Red Line (1998), Fight Club (1999) and American Psycho (2000), as well as the lead role in Urban Legend (1998), and earned critical acclaim after portraying heroin addict Harry Goldfarb in Requiem for a Dream (2000). He later began focusing increasingly on his music career, returning to acting with Panic Room (2002), Alexander (2004), Lord of War (2005), Lonely Hearts (2006), Chapter 27 (2007), and Mr. Nobody (2009). In 2012, he directed the documentary film Artifact. He then appeared in Suicide Squad (2016) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017).

Leto's performance as a transgender woman in Dallas Buyers Club (2013), earned him an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor. Leto is considered to be a method actor, known for his constant devotion to and research of his roles. He often remains completely in character for the duration of the shooting schedules of his films, even to the point of adversely affecting his health.

Leto is the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and main songwriter for Thirty Seconds to Mars, a band he formed in 1998 in Los Angeles, California, with his older brother Shannon Leto. Their debut album, 30 Seconds to Mars (2002), was released to positive reviews, but only to limited commercial success. The band achieved worldwide fame with the release of their second album A Beautiful Lie (2005). Their following releases, This Is War (2009), and Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams (2013), received further critical and commercial success. As of September 2014, the band has sold over 15 million albums worldwide. Leto has also directed music videos, including the MTV Video Music Award–winning "The Kill" (2006), "Kings and Queens" (2009), and "Up in the Air" (2013).

Early life
Jared Joseph Leto was born on December 26, 1971, in Bossier City, Louisiana, to Constance Leto (née Metrejon). His mother has Cajun ancestry. "Leto" is the surname of his stepfather. His parents divorced when he was a child, and he and his older brother, Shannon Leto, lived with their mother and their maternal grandparents, Ruby (Russell) and William Lee Metrejon. His father remarried, and committed suicide when Jared was eight. Leto moved frequently with his family from Louisiana to different cities around the country. "My mom's father was in the Air Force," Leto has explained, "so moving around a lot was a normal way of life." Leto has two younger half-brothers from his father's second marriage.

Constance joined the hippie movement and encouraged her sons to get involved in the arts. Leto stated he "was raised around a lot of artists, musicians, photographers, painters and people that were in theater," adding that "Just having the art communal hippie experience as a child, there wasn't a clear line that was drawn. We celebrated creative experience and creative expression. We didn't try and curtail it and stunt any of that kind of growth." Leto started playing music with his brother at an early age and his first musical instrument was a broken-down piano.

After dropping out briefly in the 10th grade, Leto decided to return and focus on his education at the private Emerson Preparatory School in Washington, D.C. He was interested in large-scale visual art and enrolled at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. After developing an interest in filmmaking, he transferred to the School of Visual Arts in New York City. While he was a student there, he wrote and starred in his own short film, Crying Joy.

Filmography
Main article: Jared Leto filmography Main article: Thirty Seconds to Mars discography
 * How to Make an American Quilt (1995)
 * The Last of the High Kings (1996)
 * Prefontaine (1997)
 * Switchback (1997)
 * Basil (1998)
 * Urban Legend (1998)
 * The Thin Red Line (1998)
 * Black and White (1999)
 * Fight Club (1999)
 * Girl, Interrupted (1999)
 * American Psycho (2000)
 * Requiem for a Dream (2000)
 * Sunset Strip (2000)
 * Highway (2002)
 * Panic Room (2002)
 * Alexander (2004)
 * Lord of War (2005)
 * Lonely Hearts (2006)
 * Chapter 27 (2007)
 * Mr. Nobody (2009)
 * Artifact (2012)
 * Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
 * Suicide Squad (2016)
 * Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
 * The Outsider (2018)
 * Morbius (2020)
 * It: Endgame (2020)
 * Thirty Seconds to Mars studio albums
 * 30 Seconds to Mars (2002)
 * A Beautiful Lie (2005)
 * This Is War (2009)
 * Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams (2013)
 * America (2018)