Jared

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EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT JARED LETO

  • BIOGRAPHY

A SHORT STORY OF JARED’S LIFE
Jared Leto is an American actor and musician. He is known for his critically-acclaimed portrayal of a drug addict in Requiem for a Dream. Leto is also the vocalist and guitarist of the rock band 30 Seconds to Mars.

Jared Joseph Leto was born on December 26, 1971 in Bossier City, Louisiana. His parents divorced when he was young. His mother, Constance, raised Jared and his older brother, Shannon. His father remarried and died soon after. Jared has two younger half-brothers from his father’s second marriage.

Jared was originally interested in becoming a painter and enrolled in Philadelphia’s University of the Arts. However, he transferred to the School of Visual Arts in New York City where he got majored in filmmaking.

His first film was “Crying Joy”, which he made while studying. He wrote and starred in this film. His struggle to establish himself as an actor started in 1992 when he moved to Los Angeles. However, it was two years later in 1994 that he got his first mainstream role. He played the role of Jordan Catalano in the mid-nineties teen drama series “My So-Called Life”. Though the show ran for just a year, Jared’s character became immensely popular that MTV ran numerous reruns of this ABC show contributed to this visibility. Especially popular, Jared was selected as one of People’s “50 Most Beautiful People” in 1996 and 1997.

In 1994, Jared also starred with Alicia Silverstone in “Cool and the Crazy”. His first big screen role came in the following year when he starred in “How to Make an American Quilt” (1995). In 1996, he co-starred with Christina Ricci in “The Last of the High Kings”. In 1997, He worked with Danny Glover and Dennis Quaid in “Switchback” and played an athletic part in “Prefontaine”, a movie based on the legendary runner Steve Prefontaine. In 1998, Jared appeared in “The Thin Red Line” as part of a cast including Nick Nolte, George Clooney, and Sean Penn. He also played major roles in Urban Legend and Basil. In 1999, he was seen in a supporting role in the controversial Fight Club. Jared received the best critical acclaim for his acting prowess in 2000 for his roles in “American Psycho” and “Requiem for a Dream”. He also started in Sunset Strip (2000), Highway (2001) and in a small part in Panic Room (2002). In recent years, Jared has acted in Alexander (2004), Lord of War (2005), Lonely Hearts (2006) and Chapter 27 (2007).

Jared is considered a method actor and is known to get into the character he plays. While he reportedly lost 28 pounds and gave up sex for two months to play a heroin addict in the Requiem for a Dream, he gained 62 pounds for his role in Chapter 27. Apart from acting, he is the guitarist and vocalist of the band 30 Seconds to Mars while his brother, Shannon, is on the drums. The band’s debut album was the self titled 30 Seconds to Mars (2002) and a second album was A Beautiful Lie (2005). In March 2006, they started their first ever headlining tour, Forever Night Never Day. And in August of this same year the first music video he directed (“The Kill”) was nominated for two categories in MTV Video Music Awards, the video got a silver astronault for best “MTV2 video”. In November, 30 Seconds To Mars released the video of the 3rd single off their second album “A Beautiful Lie”, shot entirely in China and directed by Jared himself, like on The Kill. Right after the release, the band started a world tour that lasted until 2007, going to Australia, where they won 2 of the 3 awards in the Australian VMA’s: “Best Rock Video” and “Video of The Year” with “The Kill”. Jared is currently shooting a new movie called “Mr. Nobody”, and his lastest movie “Chapter 27” was released on this year’s “Sundance Film Festival”.

  • FACT FILE

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT JARED
Name: Jared Joseph Leto
Height: 5′ 9″ (1.76 m) – sometimes gets listed as being 5ft 11, but he’s just a shade above 5ft 9 in reality.
Birthdate: December 26, 1971
Birthplace: Bossier City, Louisiana
Occupation: Actor/Musician
Claim to Fame: as Jordan Catalano on My So-Called Life
Hobbies: Snowboarding, skateboarding, hiking, writing songs, reading, painting.
Favorite food: corn, popcorn & vegetables
Favorite Drink: Hot chocolate
FAMILY
Father: Carl Leto; married Constance and adopted Jared and Shannon; Remarried.
Mother: Constance Leto; raised Jared and brother Shannon after divorce;
Brother: Shannon Leto; actor, photographer; older
EDUCATION
Emerson Preparatory School, Washington, DC (1989)
Newton North High School
Flint Hill Preparatory, Oakton, Virginia
University of the Arts, Philadelphia;
School of Visual Arts, New York; majored in filmmaking

  • FILMOGRAPHY
  • 30 SECONDS TO MARS

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT JARED’S BAND
All info was taken from EchelonBrazil.com – thanks to Michelle and Maris for donating them. Please credit them if you use any info!

  1. BIOGRAPHY
  2. VIDEOGRAPHY
  3. FAQ
  4. DISCOGRAPHY
  5. LYRICS
  6. MEMBERS AND EX-MEMBERS
  • MY SO-CALLED LIFE
  • TV SERIES
  • QUOTES
  • MEANING OF THE NAME
  • AWARDS & NOMINATIONS
  • NEWS ARCHIVES
  • TRIVIA
  • Top 10 Films