Jared Leto [1]: actor, rock star, and wearer of fanny packs, covers [2]the latest issue of Billboard magazine [3]. In the accompanying interview, the Oscar winner and Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman gets real about juggling his jobs, being on tour with his band, and his seemingly constant yo-yo dieting. Jared recently signed on to play The Joker [4] in the upcoming Suicide Squad movie, which starts filming in April, and is gaining weight for the role. He said, "It means I have to eat every couple of hours — and I'm terrible at eating a lot." Jared is no stranger to weight fluctuations in his films, as he starved himself for Requiem For a Dream, gained 60 pounds to play Mark David Chapman in Chapter 27, and famously dropped another 40 pounds to play AIDS patient Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club. Keep reading for Jared's candid quotes in Billboard, then check out 24 of his hands-down hottest moments [5].
- On yo-yo dieting for movie roles: "It can be an incredibly rewarding, but also destructive, thing to do. Your body changes forever."
- On other actors asking for advice on "extreme weight regimens": "I always try to talk people out of it."
- On his work ethic: "I'm terminally dissatisfied. That's probably part of being an artist."
- On juggling his responsibilities: "I've been onstage more hours than I've been in front of a camera. I've never made money from films. It's a challenge to make money from music these days — that's one of the reasons I've been really entrepreneurial."
- On possibly returning to TV: "I understand now the pleasure in consuming a story that doesn't end after 90 minutes and the ability to work on a character that long."
- On playing The Joker, and following in the late Heath Ledger [6]'s footsteps: "The opportunity to take on this nearly Shakespearean character — that's what graphic novels and comic books are becoming, right? This beautiful disaster of a character — what a big challenge."