With his tortured scientist character, the actor will play the title role of a blockbuster for the first time.
It’s never too late to become a superhero: at 50, Jared Leto ticks a new box in his Hollywood career by interpreting for the first time the title role of a blockbuster, Morbius. Without revolutionizing the genre, the film, in theaters on Wednesday, introduces a new character to the Marvel universe. Neither a new superhero, the vein of the main characters of the comics seeming to dry up, nor quite a supervillain, à la Venom. It is about Doctor Michael Morbius, a scientist suffering from an incurable disease, who will become a vampire in spite of himself, and will not be able to prevent himself from killing to drink the blood of his victims.
Read alsoMorbius, Building permit, what the hell have we all done… New wave of postponement for cinema releases
The actor, revealed two decades ago as a junkie in Requiem for a dreamOscar winner in 2014 for his role in Dallas Buyers Clubon the first treatments for AIDS, says he felt “very free”despite the constraints inherent in filming this kind of very large productions. “There was a lot of improvisation on set, and a nice space to create the character”he explained to AFP, during a meeting in Paris with the press. “Originally they wanted to use prosthetics to do the monster, but I insisted on using special effects instead. I’m glad I did that, because it gave us a lot more freedom.” game, he says. Over the years, the ex-Jordan Catalano of the series Angela, 15 years old in the 1990s, who leads a musical career in parallel with his group 30 Seconds to Mars, does not seem to have changed, look of a teenage star with long hair. But on the screen, Jared Leto is a specialist in metamorphoses, as again recently in House of Gucci by Ridley Scott.
Read alsoHouse of Gucci inspires Jared Leto 200 songs for his band Thirty Seconds to Mars
The goal of an actor is to aim for authenticity. So I do everything I can not to have an external view of myself. Maybe that’s why my characters are so different
Morbius, with his “three characters in one”therefore had everything to please him. “Michael Morbius is a good guy, he is sick and fragile. He’s looking for a cure for a rare disease. He is selfless and wants to help other patients like him. Eventually he finds a cure, which heals him and becomes strong…until things go a bit beyond his expectations.”summarizes Jared Leto.
To prepare for the role, “I have worked with people with rare diseases. The character has a way of walking that partly mirrors that of heart attack survivors. That’s how I built my approach, I didn’t just want a cane or a little limp.”he describes. “I really enjoyed bringing a character to life for the very first time on the big screen. There had never been a movie about him before.” adds the actor who defends the economic model of Marvel, accused by some moviegoers of leveling production and monopolizing the screens, but who “pay the bills” of the industry and thus allows the rest of creation to exist, according to him. “For me, it’s a big leap. I’ve done a bunch of smaller roles in big movies.” including two interpretations of the Joker, the antagonist of Batman, “and I kind of made a career out of it”he underlines, happy to play “into a big fun popcorn movie” after turning “more independent films“.
Read alsoJared Leto embodies the Joker for the second time in the final cut of the Justice League
Since Requiem for a dreampresented at Cannes, Jared Leto has taken a habit: never see the films in which he has shot. “The goal of an actor is to aim for authenticity. So I do everything I can not to have an external view of myself. Maybe that’s why my characters are so different. one another. “That way I never repeat myself”.