Despite some quibbles from the fringe, Jared Leto is suddenly America’s golden boy after taking home a golden boy of his own at the Academy Awards for his outstanding performance in Dallas Buyers Club.
But our crush on him goes back further than that. Here are five reasons why.
1. He’s not just another pretty face
Besides being silly beautiful, Leto is also actively involved in philanthropy and charity work. The list of organizations and causes he’s been attached to is commendable: Anmnesty International, Habitat for Humanity, Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, Haiti earthquake relief, Japan tsunami relief. He also helped raise money to defeat California’s Prop. 8, which seals the deal in our hearts.
2. His pretty face isn’t just another pretty face
There’s no denying Jared’s a babe. Total babe. Crazy gorgeous utter babe. But he’s also not like all the other babes. He has his own look and style — a refreshing self-confidence when so many seem to gravitate towards generic conceptions of beauty.
Like when he posed in photographer Terry Richardson’s Shower:
3. He has a proclivity towards dressing in drag
There’s something about a straight man who’s comfortable in women’s clothes that is incredibly sexy. Before his Oscar-winning role as a transgender woman in Dallas Buyers Club, Jared did this photo spread for Candy Magazine, again with photographer Terry Richardson:
4. His dating history reads like People magazine
Love it or hate it, there is a degree of soap-opera drama to the dating lives of celebrities. And if that’s your thing, Jared certainly doesn’t disappoint. He’s been seen with the likes of Cameron Diaz, Britney Spears, Scarlett Johansson, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Victoria’s Secret angel Anne Vyalitsyna. That’s quite the little black book.
5. He doesn’t care if you think he’s gay
During an interview with America Online, Jared once revealed that he is “gay as a goose.” The reporter tried to dig in, but Jared evaded, comparing himself to Morrissey and confusing the reporter (and everyone reading) even more. We find this kind of attitude incredibly refreshing. Gay, straight, trans, or goose, a person is a person and falling into one of these categories shouldn’t threaten any other group. If a straight guy gets mistaken for a gay guy, it’s really not a big deal. Jared gets this, and we love him for it.
Charlie in Charge
Reason 6: kissing Colin Farrell in Alexander (Revisited).
BrokebackBob
He is in my top 5 celeb babes. Along with Jake G (I know I know he’s straight right? um? yeah? really?) I wish him only more success in his craft, he’s got the right stuff. He’s got another flick coming soon too, and it looks interesting!
Curtispsf
Besides being cute and adorable, what makes Jared attractive is that he is totally comfortable being who he is without worrying about what others think. And that is a major turn on regardless of whether someone is straight OR gay.
mediajky
Reason #7: He played Jordan Catalano in “My So Called Life…”
Reason #8: He is supposed to have a huge dick.
sfbeast
I haven’t seen him in any movies, and don’t know much about him. But he sure didn’t know when to shut up at the Oscars.
balehead
Ellen was too transphobic at the Oscars…
jmmartin
Maybe I am sick but I think he looked his best as a strung-out junkie in Darren Aronovsky’s “Requiem for a Dream.” As with “Buyers’ Club,” he lost a ton of weight, just like a meth freak does, to play the role of a guy who ends up with an abscessed arm that must be amputated. It was that film that I thought his breakout performance, and it didn’t hurt that he had some scenes with Ellen Burstyn as his mom, who happens to be strung out, too, on amphetamines. Hubert Selby Jr., who wrote the novel, was trying to show how prescription druggies are no better than street drug users in the final analysis. He drove the point home. But I couldn’t take my eyes of Leto. Sure, he was good in “My So-Called Life,” but that show was all Claire Danes’s.
Pistolo
The streets say he’s messed around with guys too and it makes sense, anyone willing to go as far as Paris Hilton or Tila Tequila or Lindsay Lohan is pretty freaky. He clearly has an open mind seeing as how he’s not as dumb as some of the glorified groupies he’s hooked up with. With a dick as big as his, he must know it’s going to take a man to get it off sometimes.
sejjo
The scene in Dallas Buyers Club where he said “God, when I meet you, I wanna be pretty, if it’s the last thing I do. I wanna be a beautiful angel” broke my heart. I was a goner after that.
jonjct
@Pistolo: dude, how do you know leto is hung? i am def not a fan of his but suddenly i could be in love if you know something that i don’t know. that said,can anyone explain to me wtf dressing in drag has anything at all to do with being gay?
stanhope
He just seems like a supercool fellow. Taking his Mom to the Oscars, having his brother there, and his speech about his Mom was just great. That he is pretty is just a bonus!!! Being a top, I could care less about his dick size…turn that boy around!!!!
Paul F
He’s my newest Hollywood heart throb (sorry Brendon Fraser)but he damn well better not chop off his hair and beard! If I could ever get my picture back on to the avatar this site uses, you’d understand why I feel that way.
MissBooMissQuick
@stanhope: hahah, i’m pretty sure he’d be into that.
MissBooMissQuick
@jonjct: he’s def has a thing for grabbing himself on stage and things were a helluva lot more pronounced (for lack of a better word) when he was into his skinny jeans/leggings phase. Also, a bit of a thing for going without underwear too at times…. so. google. people have giffed that shit. you’ll see.
MissBooMissQuick
also, like do we know that’s not jared in the pic with Lindsay above? It’s Samantha Ronson — when Linz was doing that whole thing. if jared and lindsay were ever together (which honestly, i think a lot of it was more her on him than him on her) it would’ve been during his FatLeto days…..which, amazing. anyways, the gossip i always heard was she would hook up with his brother to get closer to him, which, knowing how she works, and his brother, that is a match made in heaven. co-dependent, substance-abuse, heaven. there were a shitton of blind item rumors back in the 2006 days that she would often invite jared’s brother shannon to travel with her, expecting jared to go along too, only to cancel the trips when jared refused to go. so. who knows. anyways, i stumbled on this post trying to find stuff on his Prop 8 work, and got sucked in. i just can’t resist jared leto dick and/or gay talk. basically my air. kthanxbai.