We have picked some of the roles that Leto has done the most homework and made the most sacrifices for – often with incredible results.
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
One of the earliest cases of Leto undergoing a serious transformation for a role came when he played an addict in the Darren Aronofsky movie “Requiem for a Dream.” Leto went on an extreme diet, losing so much weight that he ended up in skeletal shape.
To immerse himself into the role, Leto lived on New York’s streets, spending a lot of time with real-life people who faced the same struggles his character did. He also went abstinent and stopped eating sugar to reinforce the on-screen cravings.
Chapter 27 (2007)
For this role, Leto did a complete 180 from the previous one. When he played Mark David Chapman – the man who took the life of John Lennon, Leto gained a whopping 67 pounds.
For many, many nights, Leto drank pints of microwaved ice cream, combined with olive oil and soy sauce! Leto even suffered from gout and was forced to use a wheelchair from the extreme weight gain.
Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
A few years later, Leto took things to a whole new level when he played a trans woman with HIV in the movie “Dallas Buyers Club.” Both Leto and co-star Matthew McConaughy lost a lot of weight for their roles.
Leto lost over 30 pounds, waxed his body completely, and even shaved his eyebrows. But that’s not all. Leto also developed a unique accent and stayed in character for the entire duration of filming.
The radical transformation seemed to be worth it, as both McConaughey and Leto won Academy Awards for their performances, winning Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively.
Suicide Squad (2016)
It might not be the most popular portrayal of the Joker, but Leto certainly put his stamp on the character for 2016’s “Suicide Squad.” Once again, the talented actor fully immersed himself in the role.
In fact, co-stars like Will Smith and Margot Robbie commented on hour Leto played sick pranks on the cast to stay in character. Leto would listened to 1920s gospel music to create the idea that maybe the Joker is extremely old.
House of Gucci (2021)
While prosthetics certainly went a long way to completing Leto’s transformation for the role of Paolo Gucci, he still worked hard to make the role his own. Leto spent a fair amount of time in Italy to get into the role and worked hard to perfect his Italian accent.
Leto commented on how the portrayal took a heavy toll. “I did it all,” he said.”I was snorting lines of arrabbiata sauce by the middle of this movie. I had olive oil for blood. This was a deep dive I did.”