Though many know him as the founder and lead singer of the band 30 Seconds to Mars or the new Joker in Suicide Squad, Jared Leto is actually an accomplished actor, winning an Academy Award in 2014 for his supporting role in Dallas Buyers Club. Throughout his twenty year film career, Leto has also been shown to have strong supporting and leading roles in critically acclaimed films. However, upon further investigation of Leto’s filmography, I discovered and interesting pattern- his character almost always ends up dying or badly disfigured in the film. While this pattern is probably a coincidence, here are 10 films (out of the 21 released films he has acted in) where Jared Leto’s character meets a gruesome end.
- Switchback (1997)
- Character: A hitchhiker
- Fate: Unfortunately, his hitchhiker gets a ride from the serial killer of the film and is unfortunately, stabbed to death.
- Thin Red Line (1998)
- Character: Second lieutenant in a WWII movie
- Fate: One of the first men killed in battle.
- Fight Club (1999)
- Character: Angelface (one of the space monkeys in Project Mayhem)
- Fate: Beaten to a bloody pulp by the narrator during a fight. He lives through the ordeal, but his face is extremely disfigured and grotesque.
- Requiem for a Dream (2000)
- Character: Harry, a young adult addicted to heroin.
- Fate: While in prison, his left arm becomes increasingly infected due to daily heroin injections. Though he is transferred to a hospital, it is too late and his left arm must be amputated.
- American Psycho (2000)
- Character: Patrick Bateman’s (Christian Bale) co-worker.
- Fate: Hacked to death with an ax by Patrick because “he had a better business card”.
- Panic Room (2002)
- Character: a burglar.
- Fate: Lit on fire by his own hostages, then shot in the head by his own henchman.
- Alexander (2004)
- Character: Hephaestion, Alexander the Great’s lover.
- Fate: Died from mysterious illness, presumed to be caused by Alexander’s wife poisoning him.
- Lord of War (2005)
- Character: Brother and partner to Yuri (Nicholas Cage), an arms dealer.
- Fate: Tries to convince his brother to not finish a deal, is gunned down by soldiers.
- Lonelyhearts (2006)
- Character: A con-man who robs wealthy, aristocratic ladies and kills them.
- Fate: Eventually arrested and dies by electric chair for his crimes.
- Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
- Character: Rayon, a HIV positive, trans-woman who helps Ron ( Matthew McConaughey) sell treatments to other infected individuals.
- Fate: Dies from HIV.
Though morbid endings of Leto’s characters was the focus of this post, one can also notice the variety in his performances, portraying unique and different characters throughout his twenty year film career. While his chameleon ability is admirable, his supporting screen appearances are limited by the likelihood of morbidity in his characters’ fates. No wonder Leto does not liking watching his films, his happy endings are few and far between.