Without a doubt, Jared Leto is one of the most varied and divisive actors working today. Since the early 1990s, he has worked in Hollywood as an actor in both films and TV. Leto has proven to be very versatile when it comes to shifting roles, appearing in everything from enormous blockbusters to smaller independent flicks. Despite his huge celebrity and omnipresence in pop culture, you might be shocked to learn that during the course of his nearly 30-year Hollywood career, Leto has been quite picky with movie parts. Here is a list of Jared Leto’s top five acting performances:
1. Prefontaine by Steve James
Prefontaine is a 1997 true story about Olympic runner Steve Prefontaine, who was killed while driving drunk. Leto plunged himself into the life of the runner for his performance in the upcoming movie. He resembled so much like Prefontaine that the athlete’s sister Linda cried when he came in character, set to run. Leto immersed himself in the role, assuming both the appearance and mentality of a long-distance runner.
2. The Outsider by Martin Zandvliet
In his favor, Jared Leto’s sparse portrayal in The Outsider is quite excellent, as he is able to convey plenty about his subject’s inner anguish and harsh nature in a simple and subtly delivered manner. Surprisingly, among his more aggressive portrayals, this chilly and clinical performance shines brighter, especially because he gladly enables the narrative to rely more on the movie’s visual poetry.
3. House Of Gucci by Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott‘s flamboyant dramatization of Maurizio Gucci’s death is a recklessly frothy 158-minute camp-fest in which the performers cannot be blamed for misinterpreting the objective. Though Lady Gaga’s delightful main appearance is one issue, Leto’s attention-getting appearance as Paolo Gucci is another, with some hailing it as a masterpiece in self-aware absurdity and others dismissing it as an over-egged comedy of errors. In any case, Jared Leto as Maurizio’s boisterous doofus cousin is hilariously entertaining underneath the full face of makeup.
4. Requiem for a Dream by Darren Aronofsky
Leto portrays a Coney Island resident in this movie, who is battling a substance addiction that spins out of control, costing him not just his lover (Jennifer Connelly), but also one of his arms. Jared Leto gives a tremendous performance, courtesy of Darren Aronofsky’s direction, that catapulted his career to new heights.
5. Mr. Nobody by Jaco Van Dormael
Mr. Nobody is an extraordinarily audacious sci-fi drama, and it is without a doubt the most undervalued work in Leto’s whole résumé. Mr. Nobody is a magnificent, artistically stunning movie, with Jared Leto offering one of his finest and most expressive appearances. Although its scope may eventually outstrip its understanding, this is nonetheless an addictively dizzying play on a plethora of ripe sci-fi topics, including memory, choice, and mortality. It surely deserved better than to be completely overlooked by the general public upon its initial release.
