For many years, Jared Leto has been known as very much a method actor. Leto famously goes to great lengths to get into character and sometimes stays in character throughout film shoots.
There’s no question he takes his commitment to a role seriously, but sometimes that can prove a problem with the practicalities of a large scale film production.
Uproxx recently spoke with director Daniel Espinosa about the just-released Marvel and Sony feature “Morbius” which stars Leto as Dr. Michael Morbius, a scientist dying from a crippling blood disease whose attempt to find a cue leads to him become a superpowered vampire.
There have been reports that the fully mobile Leto was so committed to playing Michael Morbius with his various health and mobility issues, that he would use his crutches and limp to go to the bathroom between takes.
The time this would take, rumored to be as long as 45 minutes each time, was impacting production and a compromise was struck with someone tasked to use a wheelchair to get Leto to the bathroom. Espinosa confirmed the story and defended Leto’s choice:
“I think that what Jared thinks, what Jared believes, is that somehow the pain of those movements, even when he was playing normal Michael Morbius, he needed because he’s been having this pain his whole life. Even though, as he’s alive and strong, it has to be a difference. Hey, man, it’s people’s processes.
All of the actors believe in processes. And you, as director, you support whatever makes it as good as you can be. But it’s more that I think the directors that don’t like actors get really frustrated about that. I think it’s really mysterious, what they do.
Almost all actors, in general, have their own reputation of being an interesting person how he works with their characters. I think that all of them have these traits. If you want a completely normal person that does only things that you understand, then you’re in the wrong business. Because what’s different is what makes them tick.
It’s very hard to be able to say, ‘I can take this part away and I will still get the same stuff from him.’ I don’t do that. I’m more to see like, ‘Hey, if you’re doing this, we have to do this.'”
Leto’s bizarre set antics on such movies as “Suicide Squad” and more recently “House of Gucci” have often made good headlines in the past. However they don’t really help the films out critically with “Morbius” landing some of the worst review scores of any modern superhero film to date.
Source: Uproxx
