Saturday, April 26, 2014
By RYAN PEARSON
AP Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES
Jared Leto says that while his Oscar has led to new opportunities in Hollywood, he isn’t overly concerned with the trophy itself.
The actor-musician took home the gold statuette last month for his supporting role as transgender drug addict Rayon in “Dallas Buyers Club.” It’s sustained a few scrapes since then after circulating among friends.
“I damaged it. But then I came home and saw it had another nick on it. So it looks like someone else had fun with it, too,” Leto said in an interview. “My Oscar is a filthy mess. Everybody was pawing that thing. I kind of was just passing it around at parties. A couple of times I lost sight of it and I thought, ‘You know, if it goes away, it’s not meant to be mine.’ But it always seemed to find its way back to me.”
The 42-year-old said his success with “Buyers Club” has renewed his interest in acting — partly because of renewed interest in him from top filmmakers.
“Yeah, I’m looking at scripts and reading scripts. Which is interesting because I didn’t read scripts for years before ‘Dallas Buyers Club,’” he said. “But now ... you have opportunities to work with people that you really respect or admire, people whose work has been inspiring and influential.”
Leto has directed many of his band’s music videos. He directed “Artifact” under the name Bartholomew Cubbins. And, yes, he’s a prime example of the old actor cliche: What he really wants to do is direct features.
“I think that would be really great. And when I have the right story to tell, I’ll certainly do that,” Leto said.