Jared Leto

Jared Leto

Jared Leto portrayed The Joker in Suicide Squad.

Jared Leto also portrayed an alternate version of The Joker in Zack Snyder's Justice League.

Significant roles

• Jordan Catalano in My So-Called Life (1994-1995)
• Frankie Griffin in The Last of the High Kings (1996)
• Steve Prefontaine in Prefontaine (1997)
• Basil in Basil (1998)
• Paul Gardener in Urban Legend (1998)
• Lt. Whyte in The Thin Red Line (1998)
• Casey in Black & White (1999)
• Angel Face in Fight Club (1999)
• Tobias Jacobs in Girl, Interrupted (1999)
• Paul Allen in American Psycho (2000)
• Harry Goldfarb in Requiem for a Dream (2000)
• Glen Walker in Sunset Strip (2000)
• Jack in Highway (2002)
• Junior in Panic Room (2002)
• Hephaistion in Alexander (2004)
• Vitaly Orlov in Lord of War (2005)
• Ray Fernandez in Lonely Hearts (2006)
• Mark David Chapman in Chapter 27 (2007)
• Nemo in Mr. Nobody (2009)
• Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
• The Joker in Suicide Squad (2016)
• Niander Wallace in Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Quotes

• "I'm trying to gain a lot of weight. It means I have to eat every couple of hours -- and I'm terrible at eating a lot."
• "The opportunity to take on this nearly Shakespearean character -- that's what graphic novels and comic books are becoming, right? This beautiful disaster of a character...what a big challenge."
• "I was just thinking that the Joker would probably just say, 'F**k you,' and hang up."
• "There was definitely a period of...detachment. I took a pretty deep dive. But this was a unique opportunity and I couldn't imagine doing it another way. It was fun, playing those psychological games. But at the same time it was very painful, like giving birth out of my prick hole."
• "I always get the sense that The Joker may be much older than people think. It's something different. If you don't break rules, you're not going to strike new ground. I think I'll be cooling down for the rest of my life. [...] More social...a very successful and smart businessman besides being a sociopath."
• "The Joker is the third rail of comic book movies. There's a power to that character, and by some freaking miracle, through the incredible things Jared has done and the photography and all the other millions of things that went into it, we've cooked up something transcendent. He's scary."
• "I did interact, but I did it through the eyes of the Joker, which is really fun. It was fun to play that game."
• "It was interesting to take on this challenge. It was unlike anything I've ever done before. He's great. He's an animal. I love him."
• "You just knew you had to do something different. You had to make it your own. That happens all the time. Whether you're a composer working on a piece of music that was written a century ago, or you're an actor on stage, reinterpreting a play, it's very common these days. Directors take on great works of cinema, actors reinterpret roles, that's been going on for a great deal of time. From Scarface to Hamlet. In some ways it's really interesting to reinterpret, redefine. It's a weighty thing to do. But it's exciting. The Joker is one of those roles. He was written brilliantly when he was first shared with the world 75 years ago, or something crazy like that. And I think I'm just really grateful I had the opportunity."
• "I don't think I'm allowed to talk about that so much. But we walked in a completely new direction. I think we knew that we had to do that. It was important to do that. When the Joker has been done and done so well, it gives you a bit of an indication of where you shouldn't go. There's a bit of a map there. That's the good part about it."
• "It's quite an honor. Joker has been written about in pop culture for 75 years. I'm just the latest in the long list of people who have redefined and reinvented this character. The actors, the voice actors, the television series, the writers, the artists and the fans. People have taken the Joker and reinvented and redefined for 75 years. It is really special to be asked to do that."
• "I did a lot of research on mental illness and codependency. I was trying to access a way in to understanding why she's so in love with the Joker. I kind of decided that she's codependent on him. Now that I've done the research, I realize that that's more of an addiction than an illness… You see many sides of her. Sometimes she's really funny. Sometimes she's really mean. She just enjoys everything she does. Whether she's doing something good or bad, she'll have an equal amount of enjoyment out of it. She's not always the most likable character."
• "I worked on the laugh like walking around the streets of New York and Toronto. I kinda walked around the streets and see what laugh would kind of get under peoples' skin. If you hear someone laugh loud at a restaurant it's a little jarring. I tried them out and I got to a place where I would laugh and people would turn around like, 'Who is this creepy guy behind me?' "
• "I got the call and was invited to play The Joker, which was terrifying and exciting and an honor. It was really the most fun I've ever had on a film in my life; I had a blast. It was a real honor to get asked to play the part. These characters are so special to people and I have a lot of respect for that."
• "The only villain who may be more infamous is the devil. The Joker is an icon, a legend, the baddest of the bad and seems to be having the most fun. Hard not to be a fan of that."
• "I knew I was going to have to dive deep and go to a place I had never gone before. We sat outside his house and talked and it was clear he wanted to make something really different. He wanted to break some rules, and that's very compelling. I got the sense he was on a mission. This wasn't just a movie for him."
• "You can anticipate a lot of chaos and a hell of a lot of fun. And, I think, something completely different than other movies in the genre."
• "Aww, it was a role of a lifetime. Really, it was an incredible honor to be asked to play the part. Look, there have been so many incredible performances of the Joker over the years. Then there's the wonderful artists that have drawn this character and the writers that have written the Joker for 75 years and more through television and film and animated projects. I found it a real honor to be asked to continue the tradition. I'm so grateful that I had the chance, that's my honest answer and my thoughts on it."
• "You're kind of walking upon hallowed ground, and it deserves the very best that you can do. It takes over your life and that's what I needed to do for myself."
• "You don't know what the Joker is going to do next; you never do. It was intoxicating to have no rules."
• "If the Joker did this interview, he'd definitely castrate you and make you eat your own testicles. Just for fun. That's if he liked you."
• "Heath did an impeccable, perfect performance as the Joker. It's one of the best performances ever in cinema. I had met Heath before. I didn't know him well, but he was a beautiful person. I think had it only been portrayed by Heath and it was never a comic book, maybe I would have felt that would be inappropriate. But I thought that given the history, it was OK. The good thing about other people having done this is that you know what direction not to head in."
• "Look, they weren't used condoms. Let's be real here. They're removed from their packages, but it wasn't actually used. And, of course, I was mortified. Like, 'Jared, put that stuff away — get that out of here, what are you doing?' "
• "The Joker became entertainment for a lot of the crew. So I think we all kind of bonded, even though I was in this place."
• "There are a lot of scenes that didn't make it to the final film. Hopefully they will see the light of day. Who knows."
• "Were there any that didn't get cut? I'm asking you, were there any that didn't get cut? There were so many scenes that got cut from the movie, I couldn't even start. I think that the Joker... we did a lot of experimentation on the set, we explored a lot. There's so much that we shot that's not in the film. If I die anytime soon, it's probably likely that it'll surface somewhere. That's the good news about the death of an actor is all that stuff seems to come out."
• "I spoke to a writer and we discussed David Bowie a bit, not necessarily the music of David, but his class, his elegance, his timelessness. I don't wanna say who the guy was, but he's a famous writer in the world of DC. Bowie was definitely one of the people we spoke about. I think David Bowie is probably an inspiration for almost anything you could do creatively."
• "I think that I brought so much to the table in every scene that it was probably more about filtering all of the insanity, because I wanted to give a lot of options, and I think there's probably enough footage in this film for a Joker movie. If I were to die tomorrow maybe the studio would roll something out."
• "I always wished this film was rated R, and I had actually said that when we were starting. It felt like if a film was ever going to be rated R it should be the one about the villains."

Trivia

• Leto was considered for the role of Hal Jordan/Green Lantern in Green Lantern before Ryan Reynolds was cast.