Jared Joseph Leto (born December 26, 1971) is an American actor, director, producer and musician. Leto has appeared in both big budget Hollywood films and smaller projects from independent producers and art houses. He rose to prominence for playing Jordan Catalano in the teenage drama My So-Called Life (1994). He later made his film debut in How to Make an American Quilt (1995) and received first notable critical praise for his performance in Prefontaine (1997). Leto played supporting roles in The Thin Red Line (1998) and Girl, Interrupted (1999), as well as the lead role in the horror film Urban Legend (1998), and earned critical acclaim after portraying heroin addict Harry Goldfarb in Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream (2000). He has worked with director David Fincher in Fight Club (1999) and Panic Room (2002). Since the 2000s, Leto has been nominated for awards for his work in such films as American Psycho (2000), Highway (2002), Lord of War (2005), Lonely Hearts (2006), Chapter 27 (2007), and Mr. Nobody (2009).Leto is the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and main songwriter for 30 Seconds to Mars. He formed the rock band in 1998 in Los Angeles, California, along with his older brother Shannon Leto. Signed with Immortal and Virgin, 30 Seconds to Mars released their self-titled debut album in 2002 to positive reviews. The band's follow-up album, A Beautiful Lie (2005), went platinum in several countries. This Is War, the band's third album, arrived in December 2009. Leto has also directed music videos, including the MTV Video Music Award nominated "The Kill" (2006), "Kings and Queens" (2009), and "Hurricane" (2010).
Jared Joseph Leto was born December 26, 1971, in Bossier City, Louisiana. His parents divorced when he was a child, leaving him in the care of his mother, Constance. This separation led to a traveling life with young Jared moving with his family – mother Constance Leto, older brother Shannon Leto and grandfather – from his native Louisiana to different cities in Colorado, Virginia, Wyoming, and Haiti. "My mom's father was in the Air Force," Leto explained, "so moving around a lot was a normal way of life." His father remarried and died soon after. Leto has two younger half-brothers from his father's second marriage. Leto wanted to help his family and became a dishwasher at small snack-bar at 12, and he was a doorman at 16. Constance Leto always encouraged children’s craving for art. "I grew up in environment of actors, musicians, photographers, artists and different theatrical persons," he stated in an interview with Kerrang!; "Through this atmosphere there were no any clear boundaries and straight lines. We were proclaiming a freedom of creation and self-expression." His first musical instrument was a broken-down piano and he grew up singing classic rock, from Pink Floyd to Led Zeppelin.
After dropping out briefly in the 10th grade, Leto decided to return and focus on his education at the private Flint Hill School in Oakton, Virginia, but graduated from Emerson Preparatory School in Washington, D.C., in 1989. When he finished school, Leto enrolled at Philadelphia's University of the Arts and majored in painting. However, after developing an interest in acting, he transferred to New York City's School of Visual Arts, where he majored in filmmaking. While he was a student there, he wrote and starred in his own short film, Crying Joy.
