By Hubert VigillaStaff Writer
In recent years he’s been a long-distance runner, a sleazycorporate executive with an attractive business card and anangel-faced anarchist.
For actor Jared Leto, the transition from character to characterand film to film has been seamless. In the three aforementioned films(“Prefontaine,” “American Psycho,” and “Fight Club,” respectively)Leto has been able to showcase his talents and affinity for diverseroles. Leto’s current role — Harry Goldfarb, a junkie with hopes ofhappiness — in the critically acclaimed film “Requiem for a Dream”may be his most powerful role thus far.
“What attracted to me to ‘Requiem’ was that it had a great script,it had a really challenging part, and it had a fantastic director(Darren Aronofsky) attached,” Leto said. “That’s kind of what I lookfor every time out these days.”
“Requiem for a Dream” follows Harry, two of his friends, and hismother as their different addictions lead them toward happinessbefore they are plunged into a pit of despair. Harry holds the groupof characters together, as his happiness will appease his two friendsand his mother. Conversely, their happiness fuels his dreams ofliving a good life. Leto brings to the role a sense of realisticdesperation that can be heard in the strains of his voice and seen onhis withdrawn, gaunt face.
Preparation for the role included director Darren Aronofsky askingLeto and co-star Marlon Wayans to stay away from sex and sugar for amonth so they could feel a deep craving inside.
“I did a lot more than that,” Leto said. “I lost 25 pounds for therole and I was living out on the streets in New York doing everythingI could to understand the circumstances my character was in.
“Itwas pretty wild.”
Yet every film has its detractors. A scattering of people haveblasted “Requiem for a Dream” for being overly pretentious and toobleak.
“If everybody liked this movie, then we made the wrong f**kingmovie,” he said. “It’s not for everyone. It’s not your typical,Hollywood, melodramatic experience. This is a challenging, rewarding,intense journey into hell.”
This intense journey has been able to affect its audiences on bothvisceral and emotional levels. By the film’s end there will be a tearsoaked face for every turned stomach. In fact, during a screening atthis year’s Cannes Film Festival, the film upset a woman so much shevomited all over the red carpet.
“That was like our happiest moment in Cannes.”
Leto’s acting career began on the television show “My So-CalledLife.” When the show ended and he broke into films, Leto fortunatelydidn’t feel locked into the epithet of “teenage heartthrob” or fixedinto teenage genre films.
“That’s not what I’m interested in and I never pursued thatworld,” Leto said. “I’ve always been interested in other types offilms and I’m really happy with where I’m at these days: involvedwith films that are provocative and challenging.”
Leto fans actively searching for information via the Internet willbe disappointed to learn about the massive amounts of misinformationsurrounding his life.
“Most of the information about me (on the Web) is false,” he said.”As people, we go, ‘Oh, it’s on the computer,’ and not only do webelieve what we read, but we believe the computer doesn’t lie.”
In the future, Leto says he wants to continue taking interestingroles in movies with something to say.
“I don’t care who’s financing the movie as long as it’s notMcDonald’s or something,” Leto said. “I want to challenge myself. Iwon’t be part of that kind of disgusting commercialism that permeatesour world.”
