- "I don't think Requiem for a Dream (2000) is for children, but I think if you went home and looked at the video games that your kids are playing, you'd be much more shocked." - Mr. Showbiz, November 2000.
- All those reports that I sleep in my closet. I don't know how people get that. People are so obsessed with what you do at home.
- I could care less about anybody knowing who I am, but I realize this is part of the game. Maybe if I really hated this whole public thing, I would go do plays in Hoboken.
- I was never interested in 'Teen Beat' like roles. I just wanted to work.
- I was raised around a lot of artists, musicians, photographers, painters and people that were in theater. Just having the art-communal hippie experience as a child, there wasn't a clear line that was drawn. We celebrated creative experience and creative expression. We didn't try and curtail it and stunt any of that kind of growth.
- Teens are always shown as one dimensional. They're stereotyped. When I was in high school, I cared about more than getting a date or making the team.
- I never look at myself as a closet actor wanting to make music or a closet musician wanting to act -- I'm very proud to do both and I don't put one above the other, I'm very grateful and excited by both opportunities -- it's really a unique opportunity to do both.
- (On living in Haiti) I was 12. It's the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. It was horrible to see people living in the street, in shacks, and bathing in sewer water and drinking bad water and begging and starving. It was unforgettable.
- (2002, on his wild youth) I stole a lot when I was a kid, but I wouldn't steal one candy; I'd take the whole carton. I also used to like to break into other people's houses and sit in their rooms. I found it very comforting to be in someone's empty house.
- (2002, on making Prefontaine (1997)) "Pre" was my first major part and I was pretty much operating under the assumption that I was going after the Olympics. [Laughs] I was so gung-ho and trying to do everything I could to be this guy. Plus, Prefontaine's family was around often, so it was a moving experience.
- (2002, on what would surprise people the most about himself) Messing with computer hardware. I take computers practically apart and put them back together. I have a supercomputer I built over the years out of different computers.
- (2002, on auditioning as a newbie actor in Hollywood) It was challenging and nerve-racking. I remember hiding behind an overturned desk, shooting imaginary guns at people. One time, I stopped and said, "I can't do this. I feel like I'm in a bad high school play. I'm sorry I'm wasting your time, but I've got to go."
- (On getting back to normal after the weight loss needed for Requiem for a Dream (2000)) It was difficult. I walked around New York City for a while. Ultimately, I went to Portugal and stayed in this old monastery for weeks and ate fish and potatoes.
- (On losing the weight for Requiem for a Dream (2000)) I didn't eat. I'd have broccoli, cucumber, but just a few bites of little things, never more. It was the hardest thing I've ever done to myself, willingly. It was really painful starting to eat again after that. I was filled with a lot of guilt. It can be an addiction to not eat when you make such a strong commitment to that. I heard this story about an English woman who was in a sailboat race for months around the world. At the end of the trip, she said it was so hard to step off the boat. She wanted to go back and do it again, and that's how I felt with "Requiem". I was just bawling uncontrollably the last few days of shooting. I'd look at Darren Aronofsky and start crying. But there were moments of such reward.
- This band and its fans have always been the odd ones out. A lot of people in this family... have always felt that way. In my life I was never the popular kid or in the in crowd. [Interview, August 2011]
- (2013, on looking 31 at 41) I still have plenty of vices, but alcohol isn't one of them. It's probably just down to sleep and diet. If you travel long haul a lot or don't sleep much, it's not going to last very long, that's for sure. I'm pretty healthy so I think that helps a lot. I've been that way for a long time - 20 solid years of eating vegetarian/vegan and taking care of myself. That probably helps the preservation process.
- I've talked myself out of auditions a hundred times. 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! I literally stood up, took a few imaginary bullets and shoved [the casting director]. I said, 'I can't do this. This is like a bad high school play', and I walked out. And then Terrence called me and he's like 'Uh, Jared? I'd love you to be in my film'.
- [on preparing to lose 39 pounds for his role in Dallas Buyers Club (2013)] When you lose weight it's almost like you lose part of yourself. It's an incredible commitment and, for me, was essential. It changes the way you walk, the way you talk, the way you act, the way you breathe, the way people treat you. [And] when you put on a pair of high heels, lipstick and a wig, it's incredible what you can find. It's pretty amazing.
- [re transforming to play Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club (2013)] There were a lot of physical things going on, which is also dangerous, a trap, because it can get in the way. You could become this billboard for 'Look at me, look at me, look at me, and see all these things that I've done.' It can become a giant indication...Those things are great, because they do change the way people treat you, which is awesome for the role,. When you lose weight, it changes the way you walk and talk and think and feel. As soon as you put on a pair of heels, it changes your body center. Every morning, no matter what, I stepped out of that passenger van when I got dropped off on set, and I was wearing my heels. It didn't matter if it was 4 in the morning or whatever. I had my heels on, and that was a great way to set things for the day. You wear a little purse, it makes you move a slightly different; if you put on bracelets or have nails, your hands can move differently.
- [to protesters in Ukraine, March 2014]. You guys are in the midst of something really beautiful . And it may be difficult, but there's no price too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.
- [on sending used condoms to fellow Suicide Squad cast members] Look, they weren't used condoms. Let's be real here. They're removed from their packages, but it wasn't actually used. And, of course, I was mortified. Like, 'Jared, put that stuff away - get that out of here, what are you doing?
- I didn't even know the word 'celebrity.' I didn't have posters of people that I loved on my wall. Like, I must have listened to Led Zeppelin II 16,412 times. I didn't even know what the fuck they looked like. I thought musicians and actors and these types of people were like magic. It was royalty or you were born into it, or it was some stroke of luck or genius.
- [on playing Jordan Catalano] I feel like it was such a short period of my life. Let's face it, I barely spoke! I have a lot of gratitude for starting there, but they made such a big deal of the character in the show. I think for some people, especially girls at that time, it mirrored something in their lives. I don't know. It did make an impact for people, but it's always been so imbalanced with what the experience was for me in my own life.
- [on starring opposite Margot Robbie] Margot is very easy to have chemistry with. She's incredibly talented, she's very sweet, and she's a great actress. I think she was the perfect partner. Both, for me and for the Joker.
- [on performing live] It's that excitement you feel. That adrenaline. That fear. Joy. Being out there, that public solitude that you feel sometimes, where you're together but alone. There's some things, I guess, you can't describe.
- [on the 2010 Haiti earthquake] I lived in Haiti for a very short while when I was a kid. Even though it was this small period of my life, it was at an age and a time where that experience really stayed with me and helped shape the way that I see the world. An entire country was in ruins and just shattered to the core, and a year later it still is. There was still a lot of work that needed to be done and I wanted to go back to participate in some way and help people in need. So I went back to Haiti.
- [on arriving in Haiti] Immediately you're in a different world.
- I remember at one point I had dropped out of school and once I decided to go back and finish, I found a school where I was able to squeeze two years into one.
- [on 30 Seconds to Mars achieving success] You know, in a lot of ways we've always been the underdog and still are. We've been the dark horse, unexpected success. I don't think anyone ever thought we'd still be here and it's probably only because we've worked really, really hard. We certainly haven't just shown up for the party. We've been here and we've made things and shared those things with people and worked really hard to make things that we believe in. Things that we hope people have enjoyed.
- Playing concerts is one of the few times, ever in the world, where you'll get a huge group of people that would normally disagree about almost everything, including sports, politics, or their favorite television show. You have arenas and stadiums full of people that agree about something. So it's a very special place to be and it's a very special energy to be a part of.
- You have to make the opportunity. It doesn't find you. You have to find it.
- [on 30 Seconds to Mars] I was a musician long before I was ever an actor. We were signed in 1998 and a band many, many years before that. The odds were always stacked against us. We've been either threatened to be dropped or dropped throughout our career by people who were seemingly very smart and knew a lot about the business. I believe that all of these challenges, they helped us grow as a band. We've had the good luck and fortune to have a slow, steady climb to the middle, as they say. Our career has never been defined by one moment, one performance, or one song. It's been defined by many smaller moments. And doing the 'unplugged' performance was one of those moments. It was nice, especially after being rejected by MTV earlier on in our career.
- One of the things that's really fascinating about being in a band and touring all over the world is that you're in this unique position that puts you in a business that is affected directly by things like social unrest. Political instability. We have had shows canceled and played in places that were going through tremendous social and political changes.
- I never really fit in, though. I was never one of the popular kids and I always remember being on the outside looking in. That's how I always felt.
- [on living in Washington D.C.] The D.C. years were crazy. I mean, if my brother and I wrote a book and made a film about it, people probably wouldn't believe that it was true. We certainly would never need to embellish things that happened to us while we were in that city. You know, a single mom. Nurse. Two kids out of control.
- When you're young and you're looking at your life and the future and the possibilities, even completely reasonable goals and dreams can seem insurmountable. I always try to share that the idea that these things are unobtainable is often false. Sometimes when I'm at shows, I'll grab a few people and spend some time with them, before or after the show, and talk about life. But I think it's good to share some of the lessons learned. It's good to give back, if you can.
- If you're stubborn enough and people realize you're not just going to go away, at some point they just give up and give you a hug and they say, 'hey come on in.'
- I did a lot of crazy shit when I was young. So the fact that I'm here and alive, and not just locked up or fucked up or dead... it's a miracle. You know, I never thought I would ever be the guy on stage. I never thought that. The craziest part about living dreams, the absolute most insane part, is that if you go for it and actually fixate on the wildest dream that you have, there's a great chance that it actually could come true. You take the chance. You dive off into the abyss and sometimes you achieve.
- Sometimes when you feel like you've absolutely got nothing left, the energy of the people and their spirit can lift you up and give you unimaginable strength.
- [on touring during the Arab Spring] It definitely made the experience that much more valuable for us. What was interesting was to see that not everybody agreed that the protests were the right thing.
- When I was a kid, I really thought that I would end up just being a drug dealer. But I did have a sense of ambition, even then. I thought I'd be a pretty big drug dealer. You know, growing fields of pot. Selling pounds and pounds of weed, and whatever else came my way.
- I think as soon as your start traveling, your perspective changes. You learn that the world includes a lot more people than just the ones you thought. It teaches you a ton and it changes your life.
- [on 30 Seconds to Mars] There were definitely times where I felt like I could easily just have walked a different path and gotten my ass kicked maybe a little bit less. Certainly if I'd listened to the voices out there, whoever those voices are. I would have walked away and made films. It's not like I needed to go from Requiem for a Dream to the opening band, getting paid $200 a night, playing in front of 200 people. We went from getting rejected, complete rejection from MTV, to having a great relationship with the people there and doing really incredible things together. Not to mention winning dozens of MTV awards around the world. Despite all of the odds against us, we've done something true. Something meaningful. Something that's connected with the people who have heard it. Playing fucking arenas and stadiums all over the world. That's a fucking miracle. I'm acutely aware that we are walking on a very, very rare path. An exciting one.
- [on the Joker and Harley Quinn's relationship] I think people do crazy things when they're in love, and I think the Joker is. I don't know if you could call it love, but it's something similar. I think that Harley is a trophy for The Joker. Something he can possess and it's exciting for him to think about this creature that he helped create, being by his side as he dominates the world.
- Whatever I can do, I do it. I will be the fool, I will say something stupid or silly, I'll make you laugh, I'll make you cry, I'll beat you up verbally and physically, I'll run into the audience and shake you. Whatever I have to do in order to bring you to a place of joy, of freedom, of fun, a moment where you can forget all about the limitations in life and remember the possibilities, that's what I'm doing on stage every night.
- I think that the Joker is inflicting upon the world the pain that has been inflicted upon him. So in a sense, there's some sort of revenge there. But I think it's all a big game. I think that if there's an opportunity to manipulate or intimidate, he finds that really exciting.
- My brother and I were born in Louisiana. We climbed out of the muddy banks of the Mississippi with our instruments in one hand and a fist full of food stamps in the other. We had a very young mother. I think she was pregnant with me and had my brother by the time she was 18. When you're a kid and you're poor, I don't think you realize it. It wasn't until I got much older that I realized we didn't have money to go out and buy a bunch of presents. Every Christmas was really about making presents for each other. We moved around quite a bit as kids.
- I never really thought that you could be a musician in a band. I never thought about fame. I never thought about any of that stuff. That early childhood, that creative exposure, really helped shape my brother and I in an important way.
- I think the future is exciting.
- I always say the bridge between reality and dreams is good, old-fashioned hard work. So work, work, work, and then work some more. I think that work is the most important thing when you're in the business of dreams.
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