Jared Leto: 30 Seconds to Mars ... 20 Plus Years to Stardom

Jared Leto/ Fight Club

Movie stardom, anyway. Jared Leto blew me away with his portrayal of Rayon, the transgender woman with AIDS in Dallas Buyers Club starring Matthew McConaughey. For me he was mostly new news; I'd heard of his 30 Seconds to Mars band but that's about it. I really wasn't aware. There was a lot of talk when he won Best Supporting Actor about how he hadn't acted in five years and as a successful rock artist, he was busy and highly selective in his roles. And I'd never heard of him! 

I have now. I've taken a quick look at his curriculum vitae and was surprised to see just how many movies he's been in. A few of them have been tripe but he's got a fairly substantial list of credits alongside some heavy hitters; you can take a visual journey through the years - twenty two of them!! - below. Leto is a little cutie, a diminutive but sexy guy, and as you can see from the Fight Club shot, he likes to keep in shape. Except when he doesn't! While he and McConaughey famously lost weight for Dallas Buyers Club, Leto gained almost seventy pounds to play Lennon's killer, Mark David Chapman.His parts to date have been mostly supporting but he's been working steadily - except for that long absence between Mr. Nobody and Dallas Buyers Club - and seems ready to take on the leading role. 

He's up to take over from Will Smith who exited Brilliance, the film based on the sci-fi thriller by Marcus Sakey. If he accepts the role, he'll star opposite Noomi Rapace, playing Nick Cooper, a federal agent and terrorist hunter who is one of the 'brilliants'. And so is the terrorist he's hunting.

The author describes the story this way -

They're called "brilliants," and since 1980, one percent of people have been born this way. Nick Cooper is among them; a federal agent, Cooper has gifts rendering him exceptional at hunting terrorists. His latest target may be the most dangerous man alive, a brilliant drenched in blood and intent on provoking civil war. But to catch him, Cooper will have to violate everything he believes in—and betray his own kind. 

Will Leto take the part? Hell if I know. 

As Dexter in Camp Wilder 1992

As Jordan Catalano in My So Called Life 1994

As Beck in How to Make an American Quilt  1995

As Frankie in Last of the High Kings aka Summer Fling  1996

As 2nd Lt. Whyte in The Thin Red Line  1998

As Angel Face in Fight Club 1999

As Tobias in Girl Interrupted  1998

As Paul Allen in American Psycho  2000

As Harry Goldfarb in Requiem for a Dream  2000

As Junior in Panic Room  2002

As Hephaistion in Alexander  2004

As Vitaly Orlov in Lord of War  2005

Ray Fernandez in Lonely Hearts  2006

As Mark David Chapman in Chapter 27  2007

As Nemo in Mr. Nobody  2009

As Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club  2013