The year: 2008. The venue? An expensive hotel in Sandton, South Africa.
Jared Leto walked out for a press conference with his band Thirty Seconds to Mars for the My Coke Fest event. The journalists in the room gasped. Some screamed. Despite a few reporters throwing questions to his brother and bandmate, Shannon, this was the Jared Leto show. He captivated the crowd with his every word and unmatched charisma, taking control of the energy in the room. The man was a star in every sense of the word. Heck, the photographer’s memory card was filled with at least 300 photos of Leto and only two of Chris Cornell for comparison.
Fast-forward to 2015. Thirty Seconds to Mars was one of the biggest rock bands on the planet and Leto won an Oscar Award for Dallas Buyers Club. Whether it was music or movies, the world was his oyster. Around this time, Leto also turned into a cult-like messiah figure among his fans (he and the band would actually start a cult in Croatia later where Leto would wear white robes and walk around like some kind of California Jesus).
Now, in 2025, Leto remains popular among his diehard fanbase, but he’s become something of a “ugh, not him again” actor and musician rather than the star he once was. So many people have sworn off Tron: Ares, which looks incredible by the way, because he’s in it. So, what went wrong over the past decade?
Sitting through a Jared Leto interview is an experience. He often talks about himself as a rare breed of artist who will go to various lengths for his performance. Everyone knows the infamous stories about his method acting and how far he’s willing to go for his characters. To play Joker in Suicide Squad, he reportedly sent strange gifts, such as live animals and adult toys, to his co-stars and refused to break character. For Morbius, he hobbled around on crutches even when the camera wasn’t rolling. Here’s the problem, though: Neither of those movies needed any method acting, nor did his behind-the-scenes antics make any difference to the overall quality of the films. They’re bad movies, and he isn’t particularly good in them either.
Viewers have turned Leto into a living meme, because of his method acting stories. “It’s Morbin time” never fails to elicit laughs, while his shirtless and tattooed Joker is considered one of the worst iterations of the character of all time. Whenever Leto’s name comes up, such as his casting as Skeletor in the new Masters of the Universe movie, fans either bemoan his presence or think of funny stories of how he’ll take method acting to the next level. Here’s hoping he doesn’t actually peel off his skin to get into character as He-Man’s nemesis.
The audience sees right through Leto’s ethereal artist persona. Most people believe it to be an act from a performer who wants to sell a movie or album and his role in it. Of course, he isn’t the first or last actor/musician who puts on a facade for the cameras, but in a time when people value authenticity, he doesn’t come across as particularly authentic. The mystique has officially worn off.
Hollywood went through a reckoning after the #MeToo movement, and Jared Leto’s name has also been brought up over the years. There have been several shocking accusations shared about Leto. According to accusers, his alleged predatory behavior is well known within the industry and has taken place over multiple decades.
@dylansprouse
In 2018, Dylan Sprouse called out Leto on X for supposedly messaging young models aged between 18 and 25 on social media. Leto didn’t respond, but filmmaker James Gunn did. Gunn replied to Sprouse and asked him if Leto starts at 18 on the internet. Yikes! Everyone knows what that infers.
To date, Leto hasn’t been convicted of any crime, nor has he addressed the serious claims against him, but the allegations have spread like wildfire over the internet. Unquestionably, this has also played a role in damaging his reputation among the film community.
Despite all of the above, Jared Leto continues to find work. He hasn’t had a performance that’s been praised for a very long time, nor has he been part of a bona fide hit, but he still receives roles – big ones at that – in various productions. The question is, how long will this last? At some point, the studio executives will need to take stock over how much money they spend on him and the return on investment.
Tron: Ares / Walt Disney
Tron: Ares looks like an expensive blockbuster, so it will need a major haul at the box office to justify its existence. Casting Leto as the lead Ares is a huge gamble, because no one will rush out to see the film due to him being in it, but it remains to be seen if it pays off in the end. Until then, though, the rise and fall of Jared Leto is a study for the ages.
Jared Leto walked out for a press conference with his band Thirty Seconds to Mars for the My Coke Fest event. The journalists in the room gasped. Some screamed. Despite a few reporters throwing questions to his brother and bandmate, Shannon, this was the Jared Leto show. He captivated the crowd with his every word and unmatched charisma, taking control of the energy in the room. The man was a star in every sense of the word. Heck, the photographer’s memory card was filled with at least 300 photos of Leto and only two of Chris Cornell for comparison.
Fast-forward to 2015. Thirty Seconds to Mars was one of the biggest rock bands on the planet and Leto won an Oscar Award for Dallas Buyers Club. Whether it was music or movies, the world was his oyster. Around this time, Leto also turned into a cult-like messiah figure among his fans (he and the band would actually start a cult in Croatia later where Leto would wear white robes and walk around like some kind of California Jesus).
Now, in 2025, Leto remains popular among his diehard fanbase, but he’s become something of a “ugh, not him again” actor and musician rather than the star he once was. So many people have sworn off Tron: Ares, which looks incredible by the way, because he’s in it. So, what went wrong over the past decade?
The audience sees through him
Sitting through a Jared Leto interview is an experience. He often talks about himself as a rare breed of artist who will go to various lengths for his performance. Everyone knows the infamous stories about his method acting and how far he’s willing to go for his characters. To play Joker in Suicide Squad, he reportedly sent strange gifts, such as live animals and adult toys, to his co-stars and refused to break character. For Morbius, he hobbled around on crutches even when the camera wasn’t rolling. Here’s the problem, though: Neither of those movies needed any method acting, nor did his behind-the-scenes antics make any difference to the overall quality of the films. They’re bad movies, and he isn’t particularly good in them either.
Viewers have turned Leto into a living meme, because of his method acting stories. “It’s Morbin time” never fails to elicit laughs, while his shirtless and tattooed Joker is considered one of the worst iterations of the character of all time. Whenever Leto’s name comes up, such as his casting as Skeletor in the new Masters of the Universe movie, fans either bemoan his presence or think of funny stories of how he’ll take method acting to the next level. Here’s hoping he doesn’t actually peel off his skin to get into character as He-Man’s nemesis.
The audience sees right through Leto’s ethereal artist persona. Most people believe it to be an act from a performer who wants to sell a movie or album and his role in it. Of course, he isn’t the first or last actor/musician who puts on a facade for the cameras, but in a time when people value authenticity, he doesn’t come across as particularly authentic. The mystique has officially worn off.
Many accusations have been leveled against Jared Leto
Hollywood went through a reckoning after the #MeToo movement, and Jared Leto’s name has also been brought up over the years. There have been several shocking accusations shared about Leto. According to accusers, his alleged predatory behavior is well known within the industry and has taken place over multiple decades.
@dylansprouse
In 2018, Dylan Sprouse called out Leto on X for supposedly messaging young models aged between 18 and 25 on social media. Leto didn’t respond, but filmmaker James Gunn did. Gunn replied to Sprouse and asked him if Leto starts at 18 on the internet. Yikes! Everyone knows what that infers.
To date, Leto hasn’t been convicted of any crime, nor has he addressed the serious claims against him, but the allegations have spread like wildfire over the internet. Unquestionably, this has also played a role in damaging his reputation among the film community.
Is he box office poison?
Despite all of the above, Jared Leto continues to find work. He hasn’t had a performance that’s been praised for a very long time, nor has he been part of a bona fide hit, but he still receives roles – big ones at that – in various productions. The question is, how long will this last? At some point, the studio executives will need to take stock over how much money they spend on him and the return on investment.
Tron: Ares / Walt Disney
Tron: Ares looks like an expensive blockbuster, so it will need a major haul at the box office to justify its existence. Casting Leto as the lead Ares is a huge gamble, because no one will rush out to see the film due to him being in it, but it remains to be seen if it pays off in the end. Until then, though, the rise and fall of Jared Leto is a study for the ages.