Leto
The Rape of Leto by Tityos ca. 515 BC. From Vulci. Leto is third from left.
Abode	Delos
Consort	Zeus
Parents	Coeus and Phoebe
Siblings	Asteria
Children	Apollo and Artemis
Roman equivalent	Latona

In Greek mythology, Leto (Greek: Λητώ; Λατώ, Latō in Dorian Greek, etymology and meaning disputed) is a daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe and the sister of Asteria.^[1] The island of Kos is claimed as her birthplace.^[2] In the Olympian scheme, Zeus is the father of her twins,^[3] Apollo and Artemis, the Letoides, which Leto conceived after her hidden beauty accidentally caught the eyes of Zeus. For the classical Greeks, Leto is scarcely to be conceived apart from being pregnant and finding a place to be delivered of Apollo and Artemis, for Hera being jealous, made it so all lands shunned her. Finally, she finds an island that isn't attached to the ocean floor so it isn't considered land and she can give birth.^[4] This is her one active mythic role: once Apollo and Artemis are grown, Leto withdraws, to remain a dim^[5] and benevolent matronly figure upon Olympus, her part already played. In Roman mythology, Leto's equivalent is Latona, a Latinization of her name, influenced by Etruscan Letun.^[6]

In Crete, at the city of Dreros, Spyridon Marinatos uncovered an eighth-century post-Minoan hearth house temple in which there were found three unique figures of Apollo, Artemis and Leto made of brass sheeting hammered over a shaped core (sphyrelata).^[7] Walter Burkert notes^[8] that in Phaistos she appears in connection with an initiation cult.

Leto was identified from the fourth century onwards with the principal local mother goddess of Anatolian Lycia, as the region became Hellenized.^[9] In Greek inscriptions, the Letoides are referred to as the "national gods" of the country.^[10] Her sanctuary, the Letoon near Xanthos predated Hellenic influence in the region, however,^[11] and united the Lycian confederacy of city-states. The Hellenes of Kos also claimed Leto as their own. Another sanctuary, more recently identified, was at Oenoanda in the north of Lycia.^[12] There was, of course, a further Letoon at Delos.

A measure of what a primal goddess Leto was can be recognized in her father and mother. Her Titan father is called "Coeus," and his obscure name^[13] links him to the sphere of heaven from pole to pole.^[14] Leto's mother "Phoebe" is precisely the "bright, purifying" epithet of the full moon.^[15]

Etymology[link]

Several explanations have been put forward to explain the origin of the goddess and the meaning of her name. Possibly related to "lethe" (λήθη; oblivion) and "Lotus" (the fruit that brings oblivion to those who eat it). It would thus mean "the hidden one".^[16] It is most likely to have a Lycian origin, as her earliest cult was centered there. Leto may have the same Lycian origin as "Leda", meaning "woman/wife" in the ancient Lycian language.

Birth of Artemis and Apollo[link]

When Hera, the most conservative of goddesses — for she had the most to lose in changes to the order of nature —^[17] discovered that Leto was pregnant and that Zeus was the father, she realized that the offspring would cement the new order. She was powerless to stop the flow of events. "Latona for her intrigue with Zeus was hunted by Hera over the whole earth, till she came to Delos and brought forth first Artemis, by the help of whose midwifery she afterwards gave birth to Apollo."^[18] Hera banned Leto from giving birth on "terra firma", the mainland, any island at sea, or any place under the sun.^[19] Antoninus Liberalis is not alone in hinting that Leto came down from the land of the Hyperboreans in the guise of a she-wolf, or that she sought out the "wolf-country" of Lycia, formerly called Tremilis, which she renamed to honour wolves that had befriended her^[20] for her denning. Another late source, Aelian, also links Leto with wolves and Hyperboreans:

Wolves are not easily delivered of their young, only after twelve days and twelve nights, for the people of Delos maintain that this was the length of time that it took Leto to travel from the Hyperboreoi to Delos."^[21]

Most accounts agree that she found the barren floating island of Delos, still bearing its archaic name of Asterios, which was neither mainland nor a real island, and gave birth there, promising the island wealth from the worshippers who would flock to the obscure birthplace of the splendid god who was to come. The island was surrounded by swans. As a gesture of gratitude, Delos was secured with four pillars and later became sacred to Apollo.

It is remarkable that Leto brought forth Artemis, the elder twin, without travail, as Callimachus wrote,^[22] as if she were merely revealing another manifestation of herself. By contrast, Leto labored for nine nights and nine days for Apollo, according to the Homeric Hymn to Delian Apollo, in the presence of all the first among the deathless goddesses as witnesses: Dione, Rhea, Ichnaea, Themis and the "loud-moaning" sea-goddess Amphitrite. Only Hera kept apart, perhaps to kidnap Eileithyia or Ilithyia, the goddess of childbirth, to prevent Leto from going into labor. Instead Artemis, having been born first, assisted with the birth of Apollo. Another version, in the Homeric Hymn to Delian Apollo and in an Orphic hymn, states that Artemis was born before Apollo, on the island of Ortygia, and that she helped Leto cross the sea to Delos the next day to give birth there to Apollo.

Witnesses at the birth of Apollo[link]

According to the Homeric hymn, the goddesses who assembled to be witnesses at the birth of Apollo were responding to a public occasion in the rites of a dynasty, where the authenticity of the child must be established beyond doubt from the first moment. The dynastic rite of the witnessed birth must have been familiar to the hymn's hearers.^[23] The dynasty that is so concerned to be authenticated in this myth is the new dynasty of Zeus and the Olympian Pantheon, and the goddesses at Delos who bear witness to the rightness of the birth are the great goddesses of the old order. Demeter is not present; her mother Rhea attends. Aphrodite, a generation older than Zeus, is not present either. The goddess Dione (in her name simply the "Goddess") is sometimes taken by later mythographers as a mere feminine form of Zeus (see entry Dodona): if this were so, she would not have assembled here.

Chthonic assailants[link]

Leto was threatened and assailed in her wanderings by chthonic monsters of the ancient earth and old ways, and these became the enemies of Apollo and Artemis. One was the giant Tityos, a phallic being who grew so vast that he split his mother's womb and had to be carried to term by Gaia herself. He attempted to rape Leto near Delphi under the orders of Hera, but was laid low by the arrows of Apollo and/or Artemis, as Pindar recalled in a Pythian ode.

Another ancient earth creature that had to be overcome was the dragon Pytho, or Python, which lived in a cleft of the mother-rock beneath Delphi and beside the Castalian Spring. Apollo slew it but had to do penance and be cleansed afterwards, since though Python was a child of Gaia, it was necessary that the ancient Delphic Oracle passed to the protection of the new god.

The Lycian Letoon[link]

Leto was intensely worshipped in Lycia, Asia Minor.^[24] In Delos and Athens she was worshipped primarily as an adjunct to her children. Herodotus reported^[25] a temple to her in Egypt supposedly attached to a floating island^[26] called "Khemmis" in Buto, which also included a temple to an Egyptian god Greeks identified by interpretatio graeca as Apollo. There, Herodotus was given to understand, the goddess whom Greeks recognised as Leto was worshipped in the form of Wadjet, the cobra-headed goddess of Lower Egypt.

Leto in Crete[link]

Leto was also worshipped in Crete, whether one of "certain Cretan goddesses, or Greek goddesses in their Cretan form, influenced by the Minoan goddess".^[27] Veneration of a local Leto is attested at Phaistos^[28] (where it is purported that she gave birth to Apollo and Artemis at the islands known today as the Paximadia (also known as Letoai in ancient Crete) and at Lato, which bore her name.^[29] As Leto Phytia she was a mother-deity.

Leto of the golden spindle[link]

Pindar calls the goddess Leto Chryselakatos,^[30] an epithet that was attached to her daughter Artemis as early as Homer.^[31] "The conception of a goddess enthroned like a queen and equipped with a spindle seems to have originated in Asiatic worship of the Great Mother", O. Brendel notes, but a lucky survival of an inscribed inventory of her temple on Delos, where she was the central figures of the Delian trinity, records her cult image as sitting on a wooden throne, clothed in a linen chiton and a linen himation.^[32]

The Lycian peasants[link]

Latona and the Lycian Peasants, ca. 1605, by Jan Brueghel the Elder.

Leto's introduction into Lycia was met with resistance; there, according to Ovid's Metamorphoses,^[33] when Leto was wandering the earth after giving birth to Apollo and Artemis, she attempted to drink water from a pond in Lycia.^[34] The peasants there refused to allow her to do so by stirring the mud at the bottom of the pond. Leto turned them into frogs for their inhospitality, forever doomed to swim in the murky waters of ponds and rivers.

This scene is represented in the central fountain, the Bassin de Latone, in the garden terrace of Versailles.

Niobe[link]

Niobe, a queen of Thebes and wife of Amphion, boasted of her superiority to Leto because she had fourteen children (Niobids), seven sons and seven daughters, while Leto had only two. For her hubris, Apollo killed her sons as they practiced athletics, and Artemis her daughters. Apollo and Artemis used poisoned arrows to kill them, though according to some versions a number of the Niobids were spared (Chloris, usually). Amphion, at the sight of his dead sons, either killed himself or was killed by Zeus after swearing revenge. A devastated Niobe fled to Mount Sipylus in Asia Minor and either turned to stone as she wept or killed herself. Her tears formed the river Achelous. Zeus had turned all the people of Thebes to stone so no one buried the Niobids until the ninth day after their death, when the gods themselves entombed them.

The Niobe narrative appears in Ovid's Metamorphoses, (Book VI) where Latona (Leto) has demanded the women of Thebes to go to her temple and burn incense. Niobe, queen of Thebes, enters in the midst of the worship and insults the goddess, claiming that having beauty, better parentage and more children than Latona, she is more fit to be worshipped than the goddess. To punish this insolence, Latona begs Apollo and Artemis to avenge her against Niobe and to uphold her honor. Obedient to their mother, the twins slay Niobe's seven sons and seven daughters, leaving her childless, and her husband Amphion kills himself. Niobe is unable to move from grief and seemingly turns to marble, though she continues to weep, and her body is transported to a high mountain peak in her native land.

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Leto

• Theoi.com, Leto
• Pictures of the sanctuary for Leto at Letoum

Matthew McConaughey
McConaughey at the 83rd Academy Awards in 2011
Born	Matthew David McConaughey (1969-11-04) November 4, 1969 (age 42) Uvalde, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1991–present
Partner	Camila Alves (2007–present; 2 children)

Matthew David McConaughey ( /məˈkɒnəheɪ/;^[1] born November 4, 1969) is an American actor.

After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused (1993). He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall. McConaughey is best known more recently for his performances as a leading man in the romantic comedies The Wedding Planner, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Failure to Launch, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and Fool's Gold.

Early life[link]

McConaughey, the youngest of three boys, was born in Uvalde, Texas. His mother, Mary Kathleen "Kay" (née McCabe), was a kindergarten teacher, and his father, James Donald McConaughey, was a gas-station owner who ran an oil pipe supply business and once played football for the Green Bay Packers.^[2][3][4] McConaughey has Irish ancestry^[5] and had a Methodist upbringing.^[6][7][8] McConaughey's mother and late father had a very stormy relationship, so much so that they divorced and re-married each other several times.^[9]

McConaughey moved to Longview, Texas — located east of Dallas, where he attended Longview High School. While in high school, he was voted most handsome in the Longview Lobo Yearbook. He lived for a year in Warnervale, New South Wales, Australia, as a Rotary exchange student in 1988.^[10] McConaughey attended the College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin, where he joined Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity and lived at The Castilian residence hall.^[11] He began in fall of 1989 and graduated in the spring of 1993 with a B.S. degree in Radio-Television-Film.^[12]

Career[link]

McConaughey began his acting career in 1991, appearing in television commercials, before being cast in Richard Linklater's film Dazed and Confused, which became a critical success, garnering largely positive reviews.^[13] After appearing in some smaller roles in Angels in the Outfield, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, Boys on the Side, the television series Unsolved Mysteries, and as the male lead in the Trisha Yearwood music video for the song Walkaway Joe, McConaughey's big break came as the lawyer "Jake Brigance" in the 1996 film A Time to Kill, based on the John Grisham novel of the same name.^{[citation needed]}

McConaughey was cast in leading roles in many more movies: Contact, Amistad, The Newton Boys, EDtv, and U-571. By the early 2000s, he was frequently cast in romantic comedies, including The Wedding Planner and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, both of which were successful at the box office. During this period, he appeared as a firefighter in the low-budget film Tiptoes, opposite Rene Russo, in Two For The Money as a protege to Al Pacino's gambling mogul, and in Frailty, cast against type as a serial killer, opposite Bill Paxton. On September 10, 2000, he appears as himself on the show Sex and the City on HBO, talking with Carrie Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) about optioning her columns to make a movie.^[14]

McConaughey starred in the feature film Sahara, along with Steve Zahn and Penélope Cruz. Prior to the release of the movie, he promoted it by repeating some trips he took in the late 1990s, including sailing down the Amazon River and trekking to Mali.^{[citation needed]} That same year, McConaughey was named People magazine's “Sexiest Man Alive” for 2005.^[15]

In 2006, he co-starred with Sarah Jessica Parker in the romantic comedy Failure to Launch, which was reasonably successful at the box office. McConaughey also provided voice work for an ad campaign of the Peace Corps in late 2006. Matthew's production company, j.k. livin, is currently in development on projects with Warner Bros., Universal, Paramount Pictures and Imagine Entertainment. McConaughey starred in the football drama We Are Marshall. He also appeared in Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder, replacing Owen Wilson after Wilson's suicide attempt.^[16]

On January 21, 2008, McConaughey became the new spokesman for the national radio campaign, "Beef: It's What's For Dinner", replacing actor Sam Elliot.^[17][18]

In June 2010 it was announced that McConaughey is teaming up with Marc Hyman to develop a scripted comedy for TV channel FX based on material from J. R. Reed.^[19]

McConaughey was one of the presenters at the 2011 Academy Awards ceremony.

Personal life[link]

McConaughey approaching the finish line in a triathlon, September 2008.

McConaughey is an avid fan of the Texas Longhorns and the Washington Redskins.^[20]

McConaughey's personal motto is "Just Keep Livin". His foundation is called j.k. livin foundation (all lower-case), which "is dedicated to helping teenage kids lead active lives and make healthy choices to become great men and women."^[21]

Arrest[link]

On October 26, 1999, McConaughey was arrested in Austin, Texas, for resisting arrest following a disturbance in the early hours of the morning and for possession of cannabis.^[22] He had been found to be playing music very loudly on bongo drums while nude in his own home.^[23] McConaughey denied the drug charges (which were subsequently dropped),^[24] but was charged with disturbing the peace. He pled guilty and paid a fine of $50.

Animal rescue[link]

McConaughey rescued various pets stranded after the flooding of New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina.^[25] In 2006, in Sherman Oaks, California, he rescued a cat from two youths who had doused the animal in hairspray and were attempting to set it on fire.^[26]

Family[link]

McConaughey with partner Camila Alves in 2010.

McConaughey met his partner, Brazilian model and television performer Camila Alves, in 2007, and they are currently living in Austin, Texas. Together they have two children, son Levi Alves McConaughey (born July 7, 2008),^[27] and daughter Vida Alves McConaughey (born January 3, 2010).^[28] McConaughey proposed to Alves on Christmas Day 2011.^[29]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Matthew McConaughey

• Matthew McConaughey Official Site
• Matthew McConaughey at the Internet Movie Database
• Matthew McConaughey at People.com
• "Walkaway Joe" video Trisha Yearwood, CMT
• Matthew McConaughey's Guest DJ Set on KCRW KCRW Guest DJ Set
• 2008 interview with Bullz-Eye.com
• Matthew McConaughey Jump Roping Challenge

Jared Leto
Leto at the 66th Venice International Film Festival in 2009.
Born	(1971-12-26) December 26, 1971 (age 40) Bossier City, Louisiana, U.S.
Other names	Bartholomew Cubbins, Angakok Panipaq
Occupation	Musician, composer, singer, songwriter, producer, actor, director, photographer
Years active	1992–present
Relatives	Shannon Leto (brother)
Website
jaredleto.com

Jared Joseph Leto (born December 26, 1971) is an American actor, director, producer, musician, and occasional model. Leto has appeared in both big budget Hollywood films and smaller projects from independent producers and art houses. He rose to prominence for playing Jordan Catalano in the teenage drama My So-Called Life (1994). He later made his film debut in How to Make an American Quilt (1995) and received first notable critical praise for his performance in Prefontaine (1997). Leto played supporting roles in The Thin Red Line (1998) and Girl, Interrupted (1999), as well as the lead role in the horror film Urban Legend (1998), and earned critical acclaim after portraying heroin addict Harry Goldfarb in Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream (2000). He has worked with director David Fincher in Fight Club (1999) and Panic Room (2002). Since the 2000s, Leto has been nominated for awards for his work in such films as American Psycho (2000), Highway (2002), Lord of War (2005), Lonely Hearts (2006), Chapter 27 (2007), and Mr. Nobody (2009).

Leto is the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and main songwriter for 30 Seconds to Mars. He formed the rock band in 1998 in Los Angeles, California, along with his older brother Shannon Leto. Signed with Immortal and Virgin, 30 Seconds to Mars released their self-titled debut album in 2002 to positive reviews. The band's follow-up album, A Beautiful Lie (2005), went platinum in several countries. This Is War, the band's third album, arrived in December 2009. Leto has also directed music videos, including the MTV Video Music Award nominated "The Kill" (2006), "Kings and Queens" (2009), and "Hurricane" (2010).

Early life and education[link]

Jared Joseph Leto was born December 26, 1971, in Bossier City, Louisiana. His parents divorced when he was a child, leaving him in the care of his mother, Constance.^[1] This separation led to a traveling life with young Jared moving with his family – mother Constance Leto, older brother Shannon Leto and grandfather – from his native Louisiana to different cities in Colorado, Virginia, Wyoming, and Haiti.^[2] "My mom's father was in the Air Force," Leto explained, "so moving around a lot was a normal way of life."^[3] His father remarried and died soon after.^[1] Leto has two younger half-brothers from his father's second marriage. Leto wanted to help his family and became a dishwasher at small snack-bar at 12, and he was a doorman at 16.^[4] Constance Leto always encouraged children’s craving for art.^[3] "I grew up in environment of actors, musicians, photographers, artists and different theatrical persons," he stated in an interview with Kerrang!; "Through this atmosphere there were no any clear boundaries and straight lines. We were proclaiming a freedom of creation and self-expression."^[5] His first musical instrument was a broken-down piano and he grew up singing classic rock, from Pink Floyd to Led Zeppelin.^[6]

After dropping out briefly in the 10th grade, Leto decided to return and focus on his education at the private Flint Hill School in Oakton, Virginia, but graduated from Emerson Preparatory School in Washington, D.C., in 1989.^[1] When he finished school, Leto enrolled at Philadelphia's University of the Arts and majored in painting.^[1] However, after developing an interest in acting, he transferred to New York City's School of Visual Arts, where he majored in filmmaking.^[1] While he was a student there, he wrote and starred in his own short film, Crying Joy.^[2]

Acting career[link]

1992–97: Early work[link]

In 1992, Leto moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting.^[2] Leto got his first roles in TV shows like Camp Wilder (1992) and Almost Home (1993) before he becoming a regular in the 1994 series My So-Called Life^[7] as the object of Claire Danes' affection, Jordan Catalano.^[8] In 1994, Leto also made his television film debut in Cool and the Crazy.^[9] Gaining a reputation as a teen idol, Leto landed his first film role in the 1995 drama How to Make an American Quilt.^[10] Leto later co-starred with Christina Ricci in The Last of the High Kings and appeared in Switchback.

1997–99: Early critical success[link]

Leto was named one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" in 1996 and 1997.

Leto took his first leading role in 1997's Prefontaine, a biography of 1970's Olympic hopeful Steve Prefontaine.^[11] For the role, Leto immersed himself in the runner's life, meeting with members of the family and Prefontaine's friends. He bore a striking resemblance to the real Prefontaine, also adopting athlete's voice and upright running style.^[12] The transformation was so complete, that when the runner's sister, Linda, first saw him in character, she broke down and cried.^[13] Critical response praised Leto's acting; Peter Stack of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "With hypnotic blue eyes and dirty blond hair, Leto captures the rock-star style Prefontaine affected, and he looks natural in fiery performances on the track, as well as off, where Pre affected a brash, confrontational style," while Lisa Alspector of the Chicago Reader felt that "As the driven competitor who learns to make hubris work for him, Jared Leto gives a complex performance that suggests a deep, intriguing interior to the character even as he maintains a convincing one-dimensional facade."^[14][15]

After landing the lead role of a British aristocrat in the 1998 drama Basil, Leto starred in the teen horror film Urban Legend.^[16] He plays a school journalist and love interest of Alicia Witt’s character. Together, they go up against a crazed killer that is recreating urban legend massacres. The film was a massive success commercially, though critics mostly disliked the film.^[17] Leto was then pleased to get a role in the World War II film The Thin Red Line, as part of a cast including Sean Penn, Nick Nolte and Adrien Brody. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards and was a moderate success at the box office.^[18] In 1999, he appeared as a gay high school teacher who attracts the attentions of Robert Downey, Jr. in James Toback's Black and White. The same year, he co-starred with Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie in James Mangold's Girl, Interrupted, a film that tells the story of mental patient Susanna Kaysen, and which was adapted from Kaysen's memoir of the same name. Leto was nominated for a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award in the category of Best Supporting Actor for his performance, but lost to Michael Clarke Duncan for The Green Mile. He was also seen in David Fincher's cult classic Fight Club, a film adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's novel of the same name. While Edward Norton and Brad Pitt were the lead roles, Leto took the supporting role of a bleached blond Angel Face that was beaten almost beyond recognition.

2000–06: Worldwide recognition[link]

Leto played the supporting role of Paul Allen in Mary Harron's American Psycho, a film based on Bret Easton Ellis's novel of the same name. He then starred as heroin addict Harry Goldfarb in Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream.^[19] To prepare for his role in the film, Leto decided to live on the streets of New York City and refrain from having sex with his then fiancé, Cameron Diaz, for two months prior to shooting.^[20] He lost 28 pounds to realistically play his heroin addicted character.^[21] After the shooting of the film, Leto moved to Portugal, shaved his head and lived in a monastery for several months to gain weight.^[22][23] He admits that playing the part of Harry Goldfarb was "sadomasochistic... the hardest thing I've done".^[20] The same year, Leto played Glen Walker, an up-and-coming country rocker, in Adam Collis' directorial debut Sunset Strip.^[24] In 2001, he co-produced and had uncredited parts in Sol Goode.^[25]

After the critical success of Requiem for a Dream, Leto's next role was as the lead character in 2002's Highway. Set in 1994, Leto is caught with a gangster's wife and flee to Seattle with his best friend Jake Gyllenhaal in the week preceding Kurt Cobain's suicide. He was nominated for a Video Premiere Award for his performance. In 2002, Leto worked again with director David Fincher in Panic Room, playing a villain who terrorizes Jodie Foster.^[26] The film grossed over $30 million in its opening weekend in the United States, the best performance of a film Leto has appeared in to date.^[27] He was also in Phone Booth, playing an actor in a theater production of Drockula. He and Colin Farrell's character have a quick scene in an alley. The scene was deleted from the film, but restored when the film was aired on television.^[28]

After spending two years pursuing a career in music, Leto returned to film work in 2004 in the supporting role of Hephaestion in Oliver Stone's Alexander.^[29] The film failed domestically, with Stone attributing its poor reception to disapproval of the depiction of Alexander's bisexuality, but it succeeded internationally, with revenue of $139 million outside the United States.^[30][31] The following year Leto portrayed Nicolas Cage’s younger brother Vitaly Orlov in the action-drama Lord of War. The film was well-received by most critics and received a special mention for excellence in film making from the National Board of Review.^[32][33] In 2005, he was also in Hubert Selby Jr: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow, a documentary on the life and work of writer Hubert Selby, Jr.^[34] Leto later starred in 2006's Lonely Hearts.^[35] Playing Fernandez, he co-starred with Salma Hayek who played the role Martha. The film received mixed responses but Leto's performance was praised by many critics who wrote "it's worth seeing for Leto's performance alone."^[36]

2007–present: Recent roles and the future[link]

Leto at the premiere of Mr. Nobody at the 2009 Venice Film Festival

Following Lonely Hearts, Leto starred in Jarrett Schaefer's directorial debut Chapter 27, which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.^[37] In the film, he plays Mark David Chapman, the murderer of John Lennon. Leto gained 67 pounds for the role.^[38] Gaining the weight, he said, was tougher than dieting himself into skeletal shape for his role as drug addict Harry Goldfarb in Requiem for a Dream.^[39] The abruptness of Leto's weight gain gave him gout.^[40] He had to use a wheelchair due to the stress of the sudden increase in weight put on his body.^[41] After the shooting of the film, Leto quickly went on a liquid diet. He explained, "I've been fasting ever since. I've been doing this very strange, like, lemon and cayenne pepper and water fast. I didn't eat any food for 10 days straight; I think I lost 20 pounds that first 10 days."^[42][43] Losing the excess weight after Chapter 27 proved a challenge. "It took about a year to get back to a place that felt semi-normal," he said; "I don't know if I'll ever be back to the place I was physically. I'd never do it again; it definitely gave me some problems."^[44] The film received mixed to negative reviews, and was generally considered a disappointment.^[45] Leto's performance, however, was well-received by critics; Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News wrote "Jared Leto gives such a gripping portrayal it's equally hard to look away" and continued "Leto's drawling, blotchy, creepy performance sets it apart," while Rex Reed praised Leto saying "a galvanizing performance by an unrecognizable Jared Leto that can truly be called unforgettable."^[46][47]

During this period Leto focused increasingly on his band, turning down such films as Clint Eastwood's World War II film Flags of Our Fathers.^[48] On having to say no to Eastwood, Leto explained: "That's a dream come true when Clint Eastwood asks you to be in his film. I was devastated that I couldn't be a part of the film. But I had commitments, a record I had worked on for a couple of years was coming out. It was a very, very important time. It was a make or break time. It was one of those decisions that you make where you can see two paths and I think I made the right decision for myself. I'd love to work with Clint Eastwood in the future, he's one of my heroes."^[49] He was also chosen by Joby Harold to play Clayton Beresford in 2007's Awake.^[50] He later turned down the role due to scheduling conflicts with his band and was replaced by Hayden Christensen.^[51]

In 2009, Leto returned to acting with Mr. Nobody. Leto's role as Nemo Nobody required him to play the character as far aged as 118.^[52] The film was mostly funded through European financiers, and was given limited release.^[53] Variety's Boyd Van Hoeij praised Leto, saying "The closest the film comes to having a gravitational center are in the scenes set in 2092. What makes them soar is not the imaginative staging of the future, but Leto's performance."^[54] Bruce Kirkland of Jam! described Leto's acting as "marvelously full-blooded, brain-spinning, tour-de-force performance."^[55] Leto was nominated for the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the 66th Venice International Film Festival for his performance.

In 2011, Leto narrated TT3D: Closer to the Edge, a documentary film about the TT, the world-famous annual motorcycle race that takes place on the Isle of Man.^[56] The film was well-received both critically and commercially.^[57] Grossing £1.14 million, it is the seventh biggest documentary hit of all time in the United Kingdom.^[58]

Music career[link]

1998–2002: Early years[link]

30 Seconds to Mars (left to right): Jared Leto, Shannon Leto and Tomo Miličević

Leto told Lime magazine, "I’ve been creating music since when I was a child. It's an inseparable part of my life. There have always been lots of people around me who love music, even in my childhood. My brother began to play drums when he was only 5 years old."^[59] In 1998, Leto founded 30 Seconds to Mars along with his older brother Shannon Leto. The band's name, said Leto, "has little to do with space, the universe or anything like that. It is a name that works on several different levels. Most importantly, it is a good representation of our sound. It's a phrase that is lyrical, suggestive, cinematic, and filled with immediacy. It has some sense of otherness to it."^[60] In 1998, 30 Seconds to Mars signed a contract with Immortal and Virgin.^[61] In 2001, guitarists Kevin Drake and Solon Bixler and bassist Matt Wachter joined the band. When 30 Seconds to Mars first started, Jared refused to let his name be used to promote the band.^[62] He wrote the majority of their songs.^[63] Before the album was released, Puddle of Mudd invited 30 Seconds to Mars to open a six-week tour for them in the spring of 2002.^[64] The band later embarked on a North American tour to support Incubus.^[65]

2002–04: Debut album and early success[link]

30 Seconds to Mars released the self-titled debut album in 2002, produced by Bob Ezrin, Brian Virtue and the band itself. It received generally positive reviews, and was compared to Pink Floyd, Tool, and Brian Eno.^[66] The album debuted and peaked at number 107 on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Top Heatseekers.^[67] It produced two singles, "Capricorn (A Brand New Name)" and "Edge of the Earth", which reached the top ten on the UK Rock Chart.^[68] The former also became a Mainstream Rock top 40 hit and reached number one on the Heatseekers Songs.^[69] Over the years, the album has sold more than two million copies worldwide.^[70] In 2003, Solon Bixler left the band due to issues primarily related to touring and was replaced by Tomo Miličević.^[71] 30 Seconds to Mars toured extensively opening concerts for bands such as Our Lady Peace, Sevendust, and Chevelle, and took a slot on the 2003 Lollapalooza tour.^[72]

[edit] 2005–08: A Beautiful Lie and mainstream success

Leto performing in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2006

It took three years to record A Beautiful Lie, with the bandmates traveling to four different continents to work with Leto on his film sets. A Beautiful Lie differs notably from the band's self-titled debut album, both musically and lyrically. Whereas the eponymous concept album's lyrics focus on human struggle and astronomical themes, A Beautiful Lie's lyrics are more personal and the music introduces intense screaming vocals and synth effects.^[73] "On the first record I created a world, then hid behind it," Leto said. "With A Beautiful Lie, it was time to take a more personal and less cerebral approach. Although this record is still full of conceptual elements and thematic ideas it is ultimately much more wrapped around the heart than the head. It's about brutal honesty, growth, change. It's an incredibly intimate look into a life that is in the crossroads. A raw emotional journey. A story of life, love, death, pain, joy, and passion. Of what it is to be human."^[74]

Released in 2005, A Beautiful Lie was the band's mainstream breakthrough. It has since been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and has reached platinum and gold status in several countries, with a sales total of over 3.5 million.^[75] It was led by "Attack" which was the most added track on alternative radio in its first week, becoming a Modern Rock top 30 hit.^[76] 30 Seconds to Mars began their first headlining tour, Forever Night Never Day, in March 2006.^[77] At the same time, the band released the album's second single, "The Kill", which enjoyed mainstream success; it set a record for the longest-running hit in the history of the Hot Modern Rock Tracks when it remained on the national airplay chart for more than 50 weeks, following its number three peak in 2006.^[78] Leto directed the music video for the single under the pseudonym of Bartholomew Cubbins, a recurring character in the Dr. Seuss universe. Inspired by Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, Leto said, "The idea of isolation, identity, and self discovery were all elements present in the song. I thought this light homage was a good starting point and it soon grew to include many more elements outside of Kubrick's original piece."^[79] Nominated for two MTV Video Music Awards, the band won the MTV2 Award. The music video garnered a lot of recognition, including two MTV Australia Awards and a Chainsaw Award. In October 2006, the band began their Welcome to the Universe Tour, sponsored by MTV2 and were supported by Head Automatica, The Receiving End of Sirens, Cobra Starship, Rock Kills Kid, and several other bands including Street Drum Corps.^[80]

Leto performing in Norwich in 2008

In 2006, Leto created the cover art for The 97X Green Room: Volume 2, a compilation of live music in which appears 30 Seconds to Mars song "Was It a Dream?".^[81] Proceeds from the album's sales benefited The Nature Conservancy.^[81] "From Yesterday", the third single from A Beautiful Lie, had major success, reaching number one on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks and becoming 30 Seconds to Mars second top 10 hit.^[82] The short film for the single, directed by Leto, is the first ever American music video shot in the People's Republic of China in its entirety.^[83] Leto said that the video was inspired by Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor as well as the work of the Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. He explained, "That and the passion and the history of the Chinese culture. I thought it would be the perfect setting to tell the story of 'From Yesterday,' and it ended up one of those really unique things that the song and the visual images kind of collided and made something completely new."^[84] In March 2007, Matt Wachter left the group to spend more time with his family and was replaced by Tim Kelleher, performing live only.^[85]

"A Beautiful Lie" was released as the album's fourth single in some territories, including Portugal, where it reached number eight on the chart.^[86] The music video for the song, directed by Leto under the pseudonym of Angakok Panipaq, was the first one ever to be shot 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Greenland.^[87] Proceeds from the video's sales benefited the Natural Resources Defense Council.^[88] "Shooting in Greenland was a dream come true and one of the most exciting adventures we've ever had as a band," Leto said. "Although incredibly challenging and at times it seemed just out of our reach, once we finally arrived the beauty and magnificence of the terrain, the wonderful culture of the people, and the amazing journey itself were all inspiring beyond belief. Almost everyone has heard of global warming by now but for the people of Greenland it is a real and tangible problem of today, not an issue of tomorrow. This journey changed our lives."^[87] The music video received a largely positive response, winning the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Video and the MTV Asia Award for Favorite Video. In 2008, Leto also remixed "The Only One" for The Cure's extended play Hypnagogic States.^[89]

2008–09: Virgin Records lawsuit[link]

Despite their growing momentum, 30 Seconds to Mars soon found themselves at war with their label, Virgin Records. The band had attempted to sign with a new label after the A Beautiful Lie Tour, prompting Virgin to file a lawsuit for $30 million, claiming that the band had failed to produce three of the five records they were obligated to deliver under their 1999 contract with the now-defunct Immortal Records.^[90] Leto responded to some of the claims in the suit stating, "under California law, where we live and signed our deal, one cannot be bound to a contract for more than seven years." 30 Seconds to Mars had been contracted for nine years, so the band decided to exercise their "legal right to terminate our old, out-of-date contract, which, according to the law is null and void."^[91]

After nearly a year of the lawsuit battle, the band announced on April 28, 2009, that the case had been settled.^[92] The suit was resolved following a defence based on a contract case involving actress Olivia de Havilland decades before. Leto explained, "The California Appeals Court ruled that no service contract in California is valid after seven years, and it became known as the De Havilland Law after she used it to get out of her contract with Warner Bros."^[93] 30 Seconds to Mars then decided to re-sign with EMI (the parent label of Virgin).^[94] Leto said the band had "resolved our differences with EMI" and the decision had been made because of "the willingness and enthusiasm by EMI to address our major concerns and issues, (and) the opportunity to return to work with a team so committed and passionate about 30 Seconds to Mars".^[95]

[edit] 2009–present: This Is War and critical acclaim

Leto performing in Enschede during the 2010 TMF Music Awards

Leto described the band's third album, This Is War, as a concept album, saying it was created in an "intense two-year period, where it felt like the whole world was falling apart and massive changes were going on."^[96][97] In a bid to involve their fans for This Is War, 30 Seconds to Mars held The Summit where they invited fans to provide backing vocals and percussion. At the first, in Los Angeles, people showed up from all over the world, so they repeated The Summit in eight countries and extended the event digitally.^[98] The band also invited fans to submit close-up shots of their faces in order to make 2,000 different individual covers for the album.^[99]

This Is War was released in December 2009, produced by Flood, Steve Lillywhite and 30 Seconds to Mars. The album peaked at number one on the Tastemaker Albums, number two on the Alternative Albums and Digital Albums, number four on the Rock Albums, and number 18 on the Billboard 200.^[100] Its first two singles, "Kings and Queens" and "This Is War", peaked at number one on the Alternative Songs and reached number four on the Rock Songs.^[101] The short film for "Kings and Queens", called "The Ride," was directed by Leto and premiered at The Montalban Theater in Los Angeles on November 9, 2009. ^[102] The music video features a Critical Mass Crank Mob movement.^[103] "It's a lyrical and slightly metaphorical surreal journey through the city of Angels, from downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica Pier," Leto said.^[104] The video received four nominations at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards in the categories of Best Art Direction, Best Direction, Best Rock Video, and Video of the Year, winning the Best Rock Video Award.^[105] The band shot the music video for "This Is War" with director Edouard Salier in 2010, but was released a year later, in April 2011. Leto told MTV News, "'This Is War' is the first video that I let someone else direct, and let's just say we won't be doing that again anytime soon."^[106]

Leto performing in Nottingham during the 2010 leg of the Into The Wild Tour

The third single, "Closer to the Edge", reached number seven on the Alternative Songs, becoming the band's fifth Modern Rock top 10 hit. It holds the record for most weeks spent at the number one during 2010 on the UK Rock Chart when it remained at the top for eight consecutive weeks.^[107] The song's music video was directed by Leto and premiered on June 7, 2010, in New Zealand.^[108] The short film is a collage of tour footage, fan commentary and pictures of the band from their youth. It was shot in 89 cities in 27 different countries during the band's Into the Wild Tour.^[109] The music video was received with highly positive reviews by critics and garnered awards and nominations from Rock Sound, Fuse, and MTV.

In 2009, Kanye West announced that he and Leto recorded a song named "Hurricane" together.^[111] However, West's vocal contribution to the song was ultimately removed because of legal issues surrounding the rights of each record company.^[112] The collaboration was later released on the deluxe edition of This Is War and became the album's fourth single in some territories.^[113] The music video for the single was directed by Leto and premiered on MTV on November 29, 2010.^[114] Leto described the song as "a meditation on the violence of sex, and the sex of violence."^[115] He described the concept saying, "It's a surrealistic nightmare dream-fantasy through the desolate empty streets of New York City at night. There's no people, there's no cars and you see the band as we encounter some fears and some fetishes, a series of challenges. It's a really ambitious, really cinematic short film."^[116] "Hurricane" was controversially received and was censored because of its elements of violence, nudity and sex.^[117] The short film was later released with a clean version that can air on television.^[118] Despite its censorship, "Hurricane" was praised by critics and was nominated for several awards, including the MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction.^[119] It was named the Most Epically Unforgettable Video of 2010 by MTV and won the O Music Award for Best NSFW Music Video.

Other projects[link]

Television work[link]

In 1998, Leto appeared and provided additional photography for "Alaska's Bush Pilots," an hour long episode of Wild Life Adventures.^[120] He also guest hosted "Posehn, Papa and Mars", an episode from the second series of Player$. Leto is also featured in Hollywood High, a documentary television film about the depiction of drug addiction in film.^[121] In 2006, he narrated the Andrew Goldberg's documentary The Armenian Genocide.^[122] Leto hosted the 2008 MTV Asia Awards on August 2, 2008, at the Arena of Stars in Genting, Malaysia.^[123]

Leto has appeared in several television commercials: one for the U.S. market, a Levi's Jeans commercial that aired in 1993.^[124] Other commercial appearances came in television spots for Hugo Boss in 2011. Leto, who is the face of the campaign for the HUGO Just Different fragrance, was directed by Jonas Åkerlund.^[125]

Philanthropy[link]

Leto attended the Amnesty International campaign to support human rights, marking the 60th anniversary of the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.^[126] As part of the campaign, he also made a short film. He supports the The Art of Elysium, which encourages working actors, artists and musicians to voluntarily dedicate their time and talent to children who are battling serious medical conditions.^[127] He donated an item to watchmaker Nixon to be made into a watch, the sale of which benefitted the MusiCares MAP Fund—a pool of resources set aside to address addiction and recovery needs of members of the music community.^[128]

In June 2008, Leto and his bandmates joined Habitat for Humanity to work on a home being repaired and renovated through the Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles Area's "A Brush With Kindness" programme.^[129] In advance of the build, the band organized an auction of "build slots" to give fans the opportunity to volunteer alongside them and their family and friends.^[129] In less than a week, six extra workers were enlisted and over $10,000 was raised to fund additional Habitat for Humanity projects.^[129] Leto also supported Habitat for Humanity Malaysia in Sentul in August 2008.^[130]

In April 2009, he attended An Evening of Women, an event that raises funds for the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center.^[131] In October 2009, Leto raised money to the campaign against California Proposition 8, an initiative to overturn the state Supreme Court decision that had legalized same-sex marriage.^[132] Leto spoke out in support of LGBT rights group Freedom Action Inclusion Rights (FAIR).^[133] He took part in an online auction of celebrity-signed prints of Shepard Fairey's "Defend Equality Love Unites," a poster in support of gay marriage.^[133] Leto decided to make his poster different than the rest, by writing the words of the Proposition 8 ballot on it and then setting it on fire. He then placed the ashes in a jar, writing on it: "Here lies within, the remains of Proposition 8, may it rest in peace."^[132]

After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Leto and his bandmates raised $100,100 for Haitian relief.^[134] The charity auction included concert tickets, an exclusive backstage meet and greet, and dinner with the band.^[135] 30 Seconds to Mars has also supported the people of Haiti through the Echelon Project "House for Haiti" and the Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief.^[136] Leto released a book of photographs taken during his trip to Haiti in 2011, in a bid to raise funds for the earthquake-ravaged country.^[137] He has connected with and helped various organizations since arriving in Haiti, including Sean Penn's J/P Haitian Relief Organization.^[138] Leto spent a year in the Caribbean country during his childhood, and he returned there in January 2011 to "reconnect" with his former home following the devastating tremor of January 2010.^[137]

30 Seconds to Mars donated items to a Red Cross auction to assist people affected by the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami.^[139]

Instruments[link]

• black custom McSwain guitar 25-1/2” scale (named Artemis)

• white custom McSwain guitar (named Pythagoras)

• Gibson SG Special in black

• Gibson SG 1961 Reissue in white

Note: Both McSwain guitars have a gryphon drawn by Leto built into the body.

In the media[link]

Leto was twice named one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" in 1996 and 1997, and was listed among the "Teen Idols of the '90s".^[140] He appeared on People's "Hottest Bachelors" in 2006 and 2007, and "Best Chests" in 2009.^[141][142] Leto was nominated several times as one of the "Sexiest Vegetarians" by PETA.^[143] He won a Chainsaw Award for Prince of Darkness in 2006.^[144] In 2011, he was nominated the NME Award for Hottest Man and TRL Award for Best Look.^[145][146]

Personal life[link]

Relationships[link]

Leto began dating Cameron Diaz in 1999 and the couple became engaged in 2000.^[147] In 2003, they ended their four-year relationship.^[148]

Political convictions[link]

Leto is vegan and a strict vegetarian.^[149][150] In 2008, he supported the Proposition 2 and attended the Yes! On Prop 2 benefit gala to stop animal cruelty held in Los Angeles, California.^[151] In July 2010, he supported WWF's Text For Tigers charity campaign to aid in saving wild tigers from extinction.^[152]

In October 2006, Leto and his bandmates began their Welcome to the Universe Tour, which was "environmentally sound" according to an interview with then-bassist Matt Wachter. "Jared and Shannon put together this thing called Environmentour which is illustrating ways—alternatives—to kind of clean up some of the mess we leave behind. We fueled the bus with vegetable oil," he explained.^[153]

The Leto-directed music video of "A Beautiful Lie" was the first one ever to be shot 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Greenland.^[154] Determined to offset the impact that filming would have on the environment, Leto and the band worked with the Natural Resources Defense Council to develop strategies that would minimize fuel consumption on the shoot and purchased North American Blend Green Tags (a renewable energy certificate product) from the Bonneville Environmental Foundation.^[154] 30 Seconds to Mars also launched abeautifullie.org, which includes information about current environmental issues, ways to participate in environmental activities and more. In addition, people can make donations through the site to support the Natural Resources Defense Council.^[154]

In the 2008 presidential election, Leto supported Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.^[155] At the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards, Leto and his bandmates wore Obama T-shirts.^[155]

Filmography[link]