Jared Leto: You either kick someone’s ass, or they kick yours 
                          
ared Leto started his career as a teenage hearthrob in nineties drama  ‘My So-Called Life’. Since then, he has played supporting roles in big  Hollywood hits such as ‘Fight Club’, as well as the lead in art house  cult classics, including ‘Requiem for a Dream’. Having gone to extremes  for roles in the past, he discusses whether he’d do the same again, and  talks about his most recent release ‘Mr Nobody’. There are a lot of philosophical issues dealt with in ‘Mr Nobody’, what would you consider the main message? 
 The message that I most consider when thinking about ‘Mr Nobody’ is  how actions have universal consequences. How the seemingly small choices  that we make in life can have large impactful effects. 
 Do you believe in fate? 
 I have a lyric in one of my songs that says  “I don’t believe in  fate, but the bottom line it’s time to pay”. There are some elements in  life that are unavoidable but I believe that in many ways we create our  fate, that we carve out our own path in life by way of our actions. 
 If performing hadn’t worked out, where do you think you’d be now? 
 I originally studied to be a painter so I’d probably be standing in front of a canvas. That, or chemistry. 
 You actually filmed ‘Mr Nobody’ in 2007 – is it difficult doing interviews when so much time has passed? And do you find your answers have changed? 
 I don’t find it difficult to talk about the film. When I first read  the script I was blown away. Jaco [director Jaco Van Dormael] created  such an incredible world with rich characters and posed philosophical  questions that really made me think and consider life and possibilities.  I think the script still impacts me to this day. 
 You described playing Harry Goldfarb in ‘Requiem for a Dream’ as “the hardest thing I’ve done”, would you still agree? 
 I think ‘Requiem for a Dream’ was one of the most challenging roles  i’ve ever taken on because it was gruelling both physically and  emotionally. Putting on the weight for ‘Chapter 27′ was also very  difficult physically. It’s a very different mental state from one to the  other. 
 Having lost 28 pounds for one, and gained weight for another –  were you concerned about the effects on your body? And would you do the  same again? 
 I don’t think I would ever gain that much weight again for a role.  Putting your body through that kind of experience has lasting effects.  An interesting experience but not one I recommend. 
 It’s difficult for actors to cross over into music, but 30 Seconds to Mars has seen great success – why do you think that is? 
 I really don’t compare Thirty Seconds to Mars to other bands or  projects, but a great deal of it probably comes down to whether people  respond to the music or not. I think some people have probably made the  mistake of thinking that just because they are successful in one area  they will be in another. It doesn’t work that way. Just because someone  is a good cop does mean they will make a great criminal, right? 
 We’ve been working at this for a very long time. We were signed in  1998 and a band well before then. We have toured relentlessly around the  world for nearly a decade now and its been the journey of a lifetime.  We have had some success and we are very, very grateful for that. 
 Were you concerned being the face of Hugo might dampen the rock image? 
 I don’t worry about image.  To me, it made sense  because they weren’t trying to do something typical. They wanted to do  something new and I’m always up for trying things out and doing  something different. 
 You played Angel Face in ‘Fight Club’ (who really takes a pummelling), what’s the worst fight you’ve been in? 
 You either kick someone’s ass or they kick yours. Either way it sucks. I try not to get in fights. Nothing good comes out of it. 
 What’s next in the pipeline? 
 Right now I’m really focused on the tasks at hand. I’m in Japan right  now. We just played China. Off to Hawaii, then Mexico, then back to  Europe for all of November. Thirty seconds to mars has shows booked  until the end of the year to support our current album, this is war. I’m  also working on a charity book from my trip down to Haiti to raise  funds for the people of that country after the devastating earthquake  that affected them, and I’m finishing up a documentary about the making  of this record, the $30 million lawsuit we had against us from our  label, and the death of the music business.