At 52 years old, Jared Leto still loves to play.
The Oscar-winning actor has become known for his commitment to his roles, including losing weight, gaining it back and wearing prosthetics to become completely unrecognizable. Then there was that time he dyed his hair green and shaved off his eyebrows to go after Batman. And two of Leto's most recent projects—the much-delayed superhero movie Morbius and the Apple TV+ drama WeCrashed—join the long list of examples of the 30 Seconds to Mars frontman dramatically transforming himself for his work.
While some may call it method acting, Leto prefers the term "immersive," telling E! News in March 2022, "I've spent a career immersively and it's quite an opportunity."
Leto inhabits his characters so fully that even those working alongside him feel like they aren't really interacting with the actor. Though she spent six months playing his onscreen wife in WeCrashed, Anne Hathaway told E! News at the series premiere that she only met the real version of the Requiem for a Dream star in the last few weeks.
"He has a really immersive process," Hathaway explained. "So much so that I just kind of met Jared for the first time a few days ago. He's so sweet and playful. It's funny, I'm getting to see some of the things that he brought to his character."
It might be because Leto feels deeply connected to his roles, the actor admitting to Variety that "for me, they're like living, breathing people. I know they're not, of course, but I get attached. It's a shame to never do it again."
From the drastic weight gain that caused a serious medical condition to the prosthetics that so convincingly turned him into a member of the Gucci fashion family that his co-stars didn't even recognize him, here are Leto's most dramatic transformations.
(Originally published on April 1, 2022, at 3:00 a.m. PT)