Jared Leto biography.

Full Name: Jared Joseph Leto.
Date of birth : 26 December 1971.
Place of birth: Bossier City, Louisiana, United States.
Zodiac sign: Capricorn.
Height: 5' 9½" (1.77 mts)

Born in Bossier City, Louisiana on December 26, 1971, Jared Leto lived a transient childhood thanks to his mother, who moved him and his brother Shannon to Haiti and then to a Colorado commune (and to some spots in between). The multitalented Leto initially enrolled at Philadelphia's University of the Arts because he wished to be a painter, but transferred to New York City's School of Visual Arts after becoming passionate about acting. In 1992, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. Two years later, he landed a role as the object of Claire Danes' affection on the cult hit teenage drama, My So-Called Life. As millions of girls began hanging Jared Leto posters on their walls, he starred in his first film, 1995's How to Make an American Quilt. In 1998, he finally got some serious recognition in film, having impressed his fellow cast members in The Thin Red Line and Urban Legend. Leto's penchant for starring in critically-acclaimed movies became apparent after supporting roles in 1999's Girl, Interrupted and Fight Club, and 2000's American Psycho. Though he was passed up for the lead role in the latter, Leto earned a starring spot as a heroin addict in 2000's disturbing, much-lauded flick, Requiem for a Dream. After more supporting roles in 2002's Panic Room and 2004's Alexander, during which time he also pursued his musical talents with the group 30 Seconds to Mars, Leto returns to the big screen in Lord of War (2005), Lonely Hearts (2006),Chapter 27 (2007) and Mr.Nobody (2009).

Jared as a musician:

Jared Leto is not the first actor to launch a career in rock and roll, but somehow he's managed to be the only one audiences don't laugh off the stage.Of those, only Leto's band, 30 Seconds to Mars, has earned itself some bona fide rock cred over the course of its brief career. The band's sophomore disc, A Beautiful Lie — the follow-up to its self-titled 2002 debut — is due in record stores August 16.

Leto, the band's frontman, is best known for playing Jordan Catalano on television's "My So-Called Life," a strung-out junkie in "Requiem for a Dream" and a pretty boy who gets a brutal face rearrangement in "Fight Club." He has a theory about why he, in contrast to some of his peers, has avoided being pegged the Lame Actor Who Takes the Microphone.

"When people spend more than a couple of minutes with us, they obviously see the truth that's here," Leto said. "It's something that was very difficult, changing those perceptions. Even getting a record deal — you'd think you'd be able to walk in and just do it, but it was difficult. There were a lot of barriers. [But] there has been a tremendous amount of change and acceptance. We have an incredibly loyal, dedicated, hard-core fanbase — small, compared to a lot of big bands out there, but so, so passionate. You can sense the truth in that, and that's what people see and why they're able to accept me whereas they wouldn't someone else."

But wait, isn't it also that all those other actors-turned-rockers sort of sucked?

"Let's face it, there has been a tremendous amount of horribly bad, embarrassing music put out there by people who might have been known as actors," Leto conceded. "I think that we have cleaned up a lot of mess that people had left before us. We have a lot of pride in the fact that we've always acted with dignity and we've done things that continue to keep us inspired.

"Also, when I make music, what separates me is that I'm honestly committed to what I do," he added. "When I am making music, I focus on music completely. I think that's one of the reasons why other people have put out horrendous music — you have to be able to sacrifice."

Not that 30 Seconds to Mars are the sort of band everyone's going to like right off the bat. In fact, if anything, the group's first album was far more accessible than the more progressive, guttural, totally stripped-down A Beautiful Lie. But the band — rounded out by Leto's brother Shannon on drums, guitarist Tomo Milicevic and bassist Matt Wachter — at least brings something unique and experimental to the proverbial table, Leto said, rather than the staid, formulaic rock of his fellow actors' outfits.

"We've always been about trying to make our own mark with our own voice and be as unique and creative as possible," he said. "But we have an element of prog in us that's hard to get rid of and is probably the product of too much Rush and Yes as a kid. I think this record is more about songs. We wanted to get to the insides of the songs and cut away anything extraneous."

30 Seconds to Mars are currently on a small nationwide headlining tour but will spend July and August opening for Taproot and Chevelle. The band is about to shoot a video for the first single from A Beautiful Lie, "Attack." Leto — who'll next be seen on the big screen alongside Nicolas Cage in the action thriller "Lord of War" and then as murderer Raymond Martinez Fernandez in "Lonely Hearts" with John Travolta — promised something just as unique as the band's music for the forthcoming video.

"There's lots of sex," he joked. "It's the first bestiality footage that you're ever going to see on MTV, but it's tastefully done. We're breaking new ground with this one. The difficult decision was sheep or horses."

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PROVEHITO IN ALTUM.

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