Many actors have had really interesting auditions in their acting careers, and Jared Leto is definitely part of that list. Leto is one of the most popular actors in Hollywood and is known for his roles in “The Little Things,” “Dallas Buyers Club,” “Suicide Squad,” and several other movies.
In the DC extended universe, the actor starred as the iconic villain, The Joker. He was also Niander Wallace in “Blade Runner 2049.” Despite his success as an actor, Leto didn’t experience success off the bat; he had to go through several failed auditions before he finally secured a spot in Hollywood.
In an interview, Leto revealed one audition he walked out of. According to the actor, he wasn’t feeling the audition. He ended up getting a bit physical with the casting director and then walked out.
Leto Was Almost Part Of The ‘Star Trek’ Franchise
Like most actors, Leto faced a lot of ups and downs when he moved out to Hollywood and even had an embarrassing interview or two before he became famous. In a 2016 E! news interview, the actor told Marc Malkin about his worst auditions.
Leto mentioned that his first early miss in Hollywood was a minor role in one of the “Star Trek” movies. “One of my first auditions was for one line in ‘Star Trek,’ just one line,” the actor said. “Great show, but I was terrible, and I definitely did not get the part.”
Leto starred in early ’90s shows like “Camp Wilder” and “My So-Called Life,” so he was most likely referring to “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” The series clearly did well without the actor and ran for seven seasons from 1987 to 1994 and had about four feature-length movies.
“Star Trek” wasn’t the only movie audition Leto bombed. The actor also auditioned for a role in the reboot of a popular sitcom and gave another famous lousy performance. He recalled,. “I remember going up for WKRP in Cincinnati. They tried to remake the show. Definitely didn’t get the part. I remember being so bad, just being so embarrassed reading. ‘How can you be so bad?'”
Leto Once Shoved A Director And Walked Out Of An Audition
Leto’s less-than-stellar performances in the past didn’t deter him; instead, it spurred him on into becoming one of the most famous actors in Hollywood. Besides his bad auditions, the actor revealed that he once shoved the casting director of “Thin Red Line” and walked out because the audition process didn’t sit well with him.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actor talked about the audition and what led to him walking out. “I remember auditioning for Terrence Malick, and the casting director upended a couch, and we were supposed to hide behind it and shoot imaginary guns,” he said.
Leto revealed that the process didn’t sit well with him, and he wasn’t quiet about it. He continued, “In that audition, I literally stood up, took a few imaginary bullets, and shoved [the casting director]. I said: ‘can’t do this. This is like a bad high school play,’ and I walked out.
Most would think that the move robbed Leto of his chance in “Thin Red Line,” but the opposite happened. “And then Terrence called me — you guys I’m sure have met him; he’s the most gentle and amazing guy in the world— and he’s like: ‘Uh, Jared? I’d love you to be in my film,” the actor said.
Auditioning Isn’t Leto’s Forte
Despite how famous they are, many actors hate the audition process. Actors like Travis Fimmel admitted that he mainly skipped the entire process physically and usually sent in an audition video instead. Leto also revealed that he wasn’t the biggest fan of auditions. In an interview with Backstage, he talked about how he felt about auditions.
“If I still had to audition for every role I did, I don’t think I’d be working because I’m not great. I guess it’s just being consistent,” Leto admitted. “I think I’ve probably done some of my best and worst work in auditions, ’cause you do so many more auditions than you ever actually act in real life in the beginning. So for me, auditions are just dreadful. I get sick before them; I’m just a wreck.”
Leto Doesn’t Like The Movie Production Process
In a separate interview with Variety’s ‘Actors on Actors‘, Leto told John David Washington about movie making and the different areas he preferred participating in. He mentioned that he enjoyed the character work in Cinema compared to the movie production process.
The “House of Gucci” actor said, “Shooting the movie is the least enjoyable part for me. The two best parts of making movies is getting the job and finishing the job. I like the character build, the discovery. I actually like the time that I spend investigating. I think I just put too much pressure on myself.”
