Jared Leto met with real-life psychopaths to prepare for ‘Joker’ role

Jared Leto channeled his inner Clarise Starling on Tuesday, as the Oscar-winning actor revealed that he conversed with real-life psychopaths and their psychiatrists while researching his role as the criminally-insane Joker for the upcoming flick, Suicide Squad.

Citing Entertainment Weekly, The Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman said he fully immersed himself in the crazed character by meeting “people who had committed horrendous crimes” in order to understand the villain’s violent world.

“To the Joker, violence is a symphony. This is someone who gets an extreme reward from the act of violence and manipulation,” said Leto regarding his highly unorthodox method.

“I did meet with people that were experts, doctors, psychiatrists that dealt with psychopaths and people who had committed horrendous crimes, and then I spent some time with those people themselves, people who have been institutionalized for great periods of time,” he added.

The role of the schizophrenic clown is famously disturbing to play—proven by deceased actor and former Joker Heath Ledger, who locked himself up in a hotel room for weeks, while keeping a diary filled with ominous thoughts.

“It’s a very intoxicating role,” Xbox One Games Leto confirmed. “I think the Joker lives in between reality and another plane. You have permission to break rules and to challenge yourself and anyone around you in a really unique way.”

Leto remained in character the entire time on set, playing pranks on his cast members and sending a variety of weirdly disturbing gifts including—anal beads, used condoms and even a pig carcass.

“I did what I needed to do to deliver the best I possibly could. It’s not a part-time job. It’s immersive. It takes over your life and that’s what I needed to do for myself,” added the 44-year-old actor.

Meantime, the Joker’s updated outfit and make-up shocked many DC Comics fans when it was unveiled last year, as it featured the clown’s lurid green hair, piercings, tattoos and silver teeth—a look completely different from previous portrayals.

“There were things I brought to the table and things David [the director] brought to the table and it was a mashup of both of our sick and twisted minds,” said the actor.

Leto’s version of the iconic yet psychotic villain will terrorize theaters on August 5.

Jared Leto Gaining Weight to Play the Joker in SUICIDE SQUAD; Says Character Is “A Beautiful Disaster”

Suicide Squad is packed with movie stars, but none of them have as heavy a burden as Jared Leto, who will play the latest on-screen incarnation of the Joker.  He’ll be in the shadow of Heath Ledger‘s unforgettable performance, although that performance should remind us to give Leto the benefit of the doubt.  Fanboys were vehemently against Ledger when he was first cast as the Joker; they had no idea how the actor or director Christopher Nolan envisioned the character for The Dark Knight.  We’re in the same place with Leto, director David Ayer, and Suicide Squad.
When asked by Billboard about playing the Joker, Leto was unsurprisingly vague, but did say:

“Do you mind if I eat a little?” Jared Leto asks Billboard during an interview for our new cover story, out Friday, Feb. 20. “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.” (Case in point: Leto was eating vegan tacos during the interview, which are hardly the fattiest food on the market.)

I will boldly step forward and be Jared Leto’s eating coach.  It will take a lot of practice, but I believe with enough hard work, I can get him from vegan tacos to Doritos Locos Tacos. Cue “Eye of the Tiger”.
The Joker has never been a “hefty” character, and while I don’t know if Leto is supposed to pack on muscle or fat (presumably, it’s the former), the guy should probably just put on some weight for his general health.  The dude could slip through storm grate.
Leto also talked about the character’s appeal, telling Billboard “The opportunity to take on this nearly Shakespearean character — that’s what graphic novels and comic books are becoming, right?  [He’s] this beautiful disaster of a character — what a big challenge.”
Suicide Squad opens August 5, 2016, and also stars Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney, and Cara Delevinge.

Jared Leto Likely Pulling His Joker Inspirations From This Specific Comic

If there’s one thing we know about Suicide Squad’s Joker from the crazy promotional photo and the Comic-Con teaser, it’s that Jared Leto’s version of the Clown Prince of Crime will be radically different from previous live-action iterations. Sure he may have the classic white skin, ruby lips and green hair, but the psychopath is also rocking some crazy tattoos and bejeweled teeth. Previous reports have listed that the DC Cinematic Universe’s Joker is partly inspired by The Dark Knight Returns, but a new photo suggests that Leto may also be pulling his interpretation from The Joker’s debut appearance in the New 52 relaunch.

This past weekend, paparazzi (found via Comicbook.com) snapped a close-up photo of Leto’s phone while he was walking around, and the background is the cover of Detective Comics #1 (seen below), one of the many DC books that kicked off the New 52 in 2011. Detective Comics #1 is famous for delivering one of the most shocking moments in not just the New 52, but arguably in all of comic book history. After being captured by Batman, Joker had Baron Mathis, a.k.a. the current Dollmaker, cut off his face in Arkham Asylum at the end of the issue so he could be "reborn." If you decide to search for that particular panel online, be warned: it’s as grotesque as it sounds.



This event served as the prologue to Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Death of the Family storyline in the main Batman book. After disappearing for a year, Joker returned to Gotham City (wearing his cut face over his mangled visage) and targeted the members of the Bat Family to show Batman that they made him weak. After the Dark Knight defeated his arch-nemesis, Joker wasn’t seen again until the Endgame arc, where he decided to terminate his relationship with Batman by infecting Gotham City’s citizens with an airborne pathogen. As per usual, it was eventually defeated by Batman at personal cost.

In terms of getting a grasp of Joker’s personality, Detective Comics #1 is a good basic primer, and speaking as a fan of recent Batman stories, hopefully Leto has already read/will eventually read Death of the Family and Endgame to see the full New 52 Joker story unfold. However, when it comes to the face cutting, that may be harder to pull off in a movie. Because Suicide Squad is exactly a year away from release starting tomorrow, we won’t know for a while whether it will be rated PG-13 like most superhero movies or if it will make the jump to R. If it’s the former, you can bet that will be too gory for the younger moviegoing audience, and if its the latter, it will still have to be done carefully.

Little is known about how Joker will factor into Suicide Squad other than he will reportedly be incarcerated by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) and there may be flashbacks of him torturing Harleen Quinzel, a.k.a. his future abused girlfriend, Harley Quinn. Still, if Joker does cut off his face in the 2016 blockbuster, you can bet that gruesome act will be followed up on in the future, whether it’s Suicide Squad 2 or the next Batman film.

Jared Leto’s Joker can be seen alongside the rest of Suicide Squad’s diverse cast when the film hits theaters on August 5, 2016.

Jared Leto American actor and musician

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Academy Awards

2013: Best Supporting Actor

Jared Leto as Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club

Other Nominees

• Barkhad Abdi as Muse in Captain Phillips
• Bradley Cooper as Richie DiMaso in American Hustle
• Michael Fassbender as Edwin Epps in 12 Years a Slave
• Jonah Hill as Donnie Azoff in The Wolf of Wall Street

Jared Leto was awarded the Oscar for best supporting actor in recognition of his chameleonic turn as Rayon, a transgender AIDS patient struggling to obtain effective medication for her illness, in the film Dallas Buyers Club (AAN). Though some transgender advocates characterized his performance as mannered and stereotypical, many were deeply affected by Leto’s immersive, humanistic portrayal. In the film, Rayon assists Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey [AA]) in illegally distributing essential HIV/AIDS medications in the U.S. during the 1980s. Leto dropped about 40 pounds (18 kg) for the film and donned dramatically transformative costumes and cosmetics in order to realistically evoke the presence of the terminally ill drug-addicted woman.
Leto’s first major acting role was as handsome slacker Jordan Catalano in the teen television drama My So-Called Life (1994–95). Though he continued to work in film, his focus shifted in 1998 when he formed the rock band 30 Seconds to Mars. While the group gained momentum, Leto continued to appear in supporting roles in films such as The Thin Red Line (1998), Fight Club (1999), and American Psycho (2000). His graphic performance as a heroin addict in Requiem for a Dream (2000) earned rave reviews. He appeared as the lover of Alexander the Great in Alexander (2004) and as John Lennon’s assassin Mark David Chapman in Chapter 27 (2007). After wrapping the 2009 film Mr. Nobody in 2007, Leto became increasingly focused on his musical career; his band’s 2005 album went platinum in late 2006. He declared that the challenge presented by the role of Rayon had brought him back to acting.

Jared Leto And Mark Ruffalo Attended New York Comic Con In Disguise

Jared Leto and Mark Ruffalo crashed New York Comic Con this weekend, but nobody actually knew it was them.

Exploiting the full-costume and cosplay atmosphere of the event, both Leto and Ruffalo donned some fairly creepy masks in order to travel around incognito.

And, despite being two of the biggest names in comic-book movies (Leto playing the Joker in next year’s Suicide Squad movie and Ruffalo playing the Hulk in The Avengers) they went completely unnoticed, only revealing their entertaining ruse in posts on their Instagram pages.

Leto donned a mandrill mask (sort of like Rafiki from the Lion King but more terrifying), while Ruffalo hid his face with a particularly creepy Luigi costume.

They both managed to snag selfies with various comic book fans, although Leto got the best of the bunch, posing alongside a kid dressed as The Joker who had absolutely no idea he was standing next to the future Joker himself.

Jared Leto Attended This Year’s NYCC and We Didn’t Even Know It

It has become somewhat of a pattern as of late at conventions for movie stars and TV stars to dress up in sometimes random costumes and walk the convention floor without anyone else realizing it because if they went without the masks, we all would be trying to get photos and autographs from them. Bryan Cranston walked the floor as Walter White one year, Matt Smith did it as Bart Simpson, Daniel Radcliffe wore a Spider-Man mask, and those are to just name a few. No matter how many times it happens though, fans still can’t seem to know for sure if their favorite comic book, tv, or movie character could be walking right behind them.

Well it looks like we can add yet another name to the growing list of celebrities that have duped us all. While there wasn’t a panel for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice or Suicide Squad at this year’s New York Comic-Con, it looks like Jared Leto still took full advantage of the opportunity to mingle with fans at the convention… even if they might not have realized it.

The actor, who is set to be the newest onscreen interpretation of The Joker in Suicide Squad next year, put on a Babboon mask and walked the floor of the convention yesterday. He tweeted out pictures several times of himself in the mask, but this one that he posted might just take the cake. Check it out below:

Something tells me that anyone who saw a random guy walking around in a Bamboon mask yesterday, is really regretting not asking for a photo right about now…

This is cool because it seems to be even more proof of just how much Leto is relishing this opportunity to play such a beloved, and iconic character in pop culture, and for more than just the acting opportunities it provides too. It’s always cool to see an actor engaging with the audience they’re setting out to entertain, but when an Academy Award-winning actor who’s playing The Joker just did it too – it suddenly becomes even more cool in my opinion.

Suicide Squad is set to hit theatres on August 5th, 2016.

Make sure to keep checking back for more updates — right here on GeekNation.

JARED LETO HAS JOINED THE DISTURBING WEIGHT LOSS CLUB FOR THE MOVIE DALLAS BUYER'S CLUB

You may remember seeing the photos of an emaciated Matthew McConaughey for his upcoming movie DALLAS BUYER'S CLUB. The film follows Ron Woodroof, "a tough Texas electrician who was diagnosed with AIDS in 1986 and given six months to live. Unwilling to accept the doctors diagnosis Woodruff became frustrated by the lack of medical options. He found alternative drugs that created a lucrative smuggling business and made those same drugs available to other AIDS patients. However Woodruff died in 1992."

Joining McConaughey in the drastic weight loss for the movie is actor Jared Leto who unveiled some shocking photos from photographer Terry Richardson. Leto is playing a transsexual in the movie which explains the recent images of him in drag. This will be Leto's first film since 2009 and he appears to be going all out for the role.

Leto told Vulture, "Your body goes through weird stages," he said. "Sometimes it's hard to hold on to water. But for me, it's not about the most weight I can lose, it's more to represent the character. I'm focused on what it means to be a transsexual woman." That includes plucking his eyebrows and waxing his legs. But before anyone worries about his gaunt state or lack of facial hair, he is quick to add that fasting has other benefits besides giving him a girlish figure. "Historically, people have done it for pursuit of self, to achieve a meditative state, so I'm hoping for that, and not the other things." he laughed. "It's not necessarily a bad thing."

It remains to be seen if the movie will be any good, but you have to applaud these two for going as far as humanly possible, literally, for their craft, Check out the weight loss and drag images below.

DALLAS BUYER'S CLUB has no set release, but we will likely see it some time in the next year.