Jared Leto Explains Why He Didn’t Star in Movies When He Was Younger
Written by SOURCE on January 27, 2021
Jared Leto is known almost as much for his quirks as his movies, so much so, that the only logical reaction to him missing news of the pandemic because he was off on a monastic retreat should have been “of course.”
In his latest interview, Leto once again embraces his singular persona, saying he stayed away from movies for a long time because he felt he just wasn’t ready.
“As I’ve gotten older, I consider being a little less precious about things. I remember in the beginning, I actually said no to quite a lot,” he said in a conversation with John David Washington for Variety’s Actors on Actors. “I was maybe naive in some respects, but I said no to quite a lot for many years. Starring in movies was something I avoided for a really long time, because I felt like I wasn’t ready.”
Now that he’s an Oscar winner, that nervousness has faded completely. Leto admitted he doesn’t really prepare for movies he works on.
“I haven’t rehearsed in a movie in 10 years. I don’t have a rule against it, but usually I’m ready to go,” he said.
Elsewhere in the interview, Leto revealed he doesn’t like the actual process of making the film itself.
“Shooting the movie is the least enjoyable part for me. The two best parts of making movies is getting the job and finishing the job,” he said. “I like the character build, the discovery. I actually like the time that I spend investigating. I think I just put too much pressure on myself.”
Washington on the other hand, seems enthralled with making movies. The actor is relatively green as far as leading men go, but has already starred in films directed by legends like Spike Lee and Christopher Nolan.
“I connect totally to that feeling of ‘I’m not sure I’m ready for this leading man thing,'” he told Leto. “But this is a dream scenario to be able to work with Spike Lee or Christopher Nolan. They don’t have to prove anything, but they still feel like they do. That’s infectious. We all have something to prove, even though we’re sitting with a $200 million budget.”
Catch Jared Leto in HBO Max’s The Little Things on January 29.
