The 'House of Gucci' actor also explains in a new interview that the physical changes he went through were more about getting insight into how that person walks through life.
- Mar 23, 2022
AceShowbiz - Jared Leto got candid about his experience when he gained weight for a role. In an interview for the April issue of Men's Health, the Joker depicter claimed that people treated him differently.
"Your job is to bring to life the spirit of the person that’s depicted in the story, to serve the story... I’m thinking about the heart of the character, the soul, the spirit," the "House of Gucci" actor shared in the interview.
Of the prosthetics, the makeup, the bodily transformations, Leto said, "Those other things, it's the description."
The actor went on to explain that the physical changes he went through were more about getting insight into how that person walks through life. "How does it change the way you walk? How does it change the way you talk? How does it change the way people treat you?" he shared.
"I gained over 60 pounds for a role once, and it was amazing. I remember asking someone for the time in New York and they, like, recoiled," Leto recalled. "I saw people I knew who didn’t know I was filming and thought... that I had 'not been taking care of myself.' They took it as a sign of something wrong in my life. It was a really wild thing to experience that."
Recently, Leto transformed into disgraced WeWork CEO Adam Neumann for Apple TV+'s "WeCrashed". When asked how got into that role, he said, "Walking down the street barefoot -- if you've ever lived in New York, you know there's one thing you don't want to do, is walk down that street barefoot. "So, I think I got a little stunt pay that day."
As for what it's like separating himself from the character at the end of a project after "working immersively" for so long, Leto revealed, "Look, when you make a commitment, in any way, when you let go, there can be a mourning process."
He went on to explain, "Some of the things are physical. The way you move, the way you laugh, the way you talk, the accent. It can become habit. So, I think it's normal that there's a little grace period," he said. "You don't just all of a sudden, 'Hey, I forgot about the last six months of my life.' So, there's a little bit of time."
