Jared Leto is famous or rather infamous for going full method in order to bring perfection to his roles. Although this process hasn’t resulted in 100% success in some cases, things did work out during his time in Denis Villeneuve’s critically acclaimed sequel to Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner.
Blade Runner 2049 has cemented itself as one of the greatest sequels ever made, expanding in all the aspects that made the first one great, thanks to the brilliance of Villeneuve. And actors, including Ryan Gosling, Ana de Armas, and even Dave Bautista in his brief sequence don’t fail to leave an impact, and the same goes for Jared Leto, who went full method for the role of Niander Wallace.
Denis Villeneuve was awestruck by Jared Leto’s commitment to the craft
Following his time playing the evil replicant manufacturer, it appears Jared Leto went completely blind for the entire duration of filming, leaving Denis Villeneuve in complete awe through his commitment. In order to bring perfection to the character of Niander Wallace, who was blind in the movie, Jared Leto decided to use a set of custom-made contact lenses, turning his eyes completely opaque. And during his camera test, the actor did manage to leave a lasting impression on Villeneuve, who didn’t back away from admiring Leto’s devotion. He said,
“We all heard stories about Jared, how he transforms into the characters, but even this didn’t prepare me for what was to come. He entered the room, and he could not see at all. He was walking with an assistant, very slowly. It was like seeing Jesus walking into a temple. Everybody became super silent, and there was a kind of sacred moment. Everyone was in awe. It was so beautiful and powerful—I was moved to tears. And that was just a camera test!”
Throughout the filming process, Jared Leto didn’t fail from boosting new excitement and energy on sets according to the director, and succeeded in bringing the unnerving nature to the character.
Jared Leto going full method for Morbius resulted in production delays
But unlike Blade Runner 2049, going full method for certain roles has often backfired for the actor, with the recent example being Morbius. According to Daniel Espinosa, Jared Leto was so committed to perfectly portraying the physical limitations of Dr. Michael Morbius, he kept using the character’s crutches even when the cameras weren’t rolling. This resulted in the production getting delayed due to abundant time loss during the actor’s bathroom breaks, and to expedite the process, they brought in a wheelchair for Leto.
Unlike Blade Runner 2049, Morbius was bashed unanimously by critics and fans. But at the very least, things weren’t as bad as Suicide Squad, as Leto made headlines for sending distressing items to his costars during the film’s production.
Blade Runner 2049 is available to stream on Max.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
