44 reasons we love Jared Leto in honor of his 44th birthday
It’s Jared Leto’s 44th birthday, and in honor of this very special day indeed, we’re celebrating all of the many reasons why we love this crazy-talented guy.
Spoiler: The first few may or may not have to do with his hair. (They totally do.)
Those beautiful long locks, though.
I mean, COME ON.
He can rock a man bun.
And ANY hair color.
Obviously, we know he can pull off green (hello, Joker!) but the way he rocks pink is pretty impressive.
His incredible musical talent.
Jared not only started 30 Seconds To Mars, but he sings, plays multiple instruments, and is an incredibly successful songwriter. If you haven’t heard “A Beautiful Lie,” stop and ask yourself what you’ve been doing with your life.
And his music draws crowds like this:
The fact that he’s pretty much the creepiest Joker ever
We still have another eight months until Suicide Squad hits theaters, but his performance as Joker is already making the hairs on the backs of our necks stand up. This shot will forever give us the creeps:
He’s dedicated to doing Joker justice.
Obviously, Jared’s got some major shoes to fill after amazing portrayals by Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger, and Jared is well aware of that. In fact, he recently made a promise to make both of them proud in a stellar Instagram post.
That’s because he’s committed to portraying his characters.
It’s no secret that Jared is a method actor, and he never takes a role lightly. Playing Joker in the film gave him some intense psychological effects. “There was definitely a period of. . . detachment. I took a pretty deep dive,” he told Empire magazine. “But this was a unique opportunity and I couldn’t imagine doing it another way. . . It was very painful. . . I think I’ll be cooling down for the rest of my life.”
Even though he can get a little weird.
He sent bullets to co-star Will Smith, and a dead rat to Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn). He’s certainly committed.
His unbelievable acting abilities.
Jared’s performance in Dallas Buyers Club = absolute perfection. Probably why it earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
His addiction to Snapchat.
No one loves Snapchat quite like Jared Leto.
And he uses it to express his love for his fans.
Like the time he couldn’t make it to a show in Moscow because he was sick, and he drew this adorable thing:
And he retweets his fans, too.
Like this mom whose son is an impressive Joker with an unexpected secret weapon:
And his fans’ 30 Seconds To Mars tattoos.
Like this one:
He makes sure to credit any artwork he tweets or posts.
Because he never wants to step on any artists’ toes.
He can grow a beard that rivals that of Jeff Bridges.
That’s darn impressive.
SERIOUSLY, THOUGH, THAT BEARD.
He loves nature.
Honestly, a great reason to follow Jared on Instagram? His gorgeous nature shots.
He’s a MAJOR adventurer.
Giving us legit #travelgoals.
His top-notch photo-bombing skills.
Absolute perfection.
His selfies.
No one does a selfie quite like Jared Leto. Like everything else he does, he’s got it down to an art form.
(Including his psychedelic selfies.)
And, like everything else he does, it can sometimes get a little weird — this time, because of his addiction to Snapchat.
His super-cute #tbt shots
Even if they’re not always posted on a Thursday.
He can *actually* do it all.
He sings and plays instruments in a mega-famous band. He’s a critically acclaimed and award-winning actor. He’s a songwriter AND a director. And he makes us swoon all day every day. Is there anything this guy can’t do?
He’s also a businessman.
On top of everything else he’s juggling, Jared started a social media management and digital marketing company called The Hive, which is based in LA. He’s also launched several other companies. Proof that you can do anything — and EVERYTHING — you want if you have enough drive.
He’s a huge activist for great things.
Jared supports animal rights, is a vegan, and has been actively fighting for gay rights.
In fact, he’s literally a tree-hugger.
See?!
He’s incredibly generous
He not only volunteers his time with organizations that focus on helping ill children as well as Habitat for Humanity, but he also monetarily supports numerous organizations that support endangered species and humanitarian aid.
The way he apologized to his neighbors.
Back on Halloween, Jared through a major party that ticked off his neighbors. Typically, people in his neighborhood hire a shuttle service for guests, but because he didn’t, there was a major parking issue. Come Thanksgiving, Jared was still feeling so awful about the whole thing that he went out and bought a whole ton of pumpkin pies from Whole Goods, then hand-delivered them to his neighbors with a note that said “Happy Thanksgiving! From: Your Neighbor, Jared Leto.” D’awww.
He can make fun of himself.
He finds weird pics and mashups of himself on the Internet and shares them with his followers, because he loves making fun of himself.
Seriously, he has a great sense of humor.
Like this lovely shot:
His gorgeous speech at the AMAs.
“The entire world matters and peace is possible.”
His heartfelt apology to Taylor Swift.
Earlier this month, the Internet was a-buzz with a video posted by TMZ that features Jared and his bandmates saying some not-so-nice things about Taylor Swift. The video was clearly edited, and it appeared that the band was listening to Taylor’s 1989 for research, but he still made sure to take to Twitter and apologize publicly, not only to Taylor, but to her fans.
He’s not afraid to stand up for himself.
That whole video controversy was due to a leaked video that Jared politely asked TMZ not to post, and when they did anyway, he decided to fight back via a lawsuit — and remain totally transparent by posting his intentions publicly.
He likes making friends with “little tiny baby horsey[s]” that are “awww cute”
His words.
And with tiny puppies.
As one does.
Oh, and he empathizes with deer.
Because sometimes you just gotta scratch that itch.
His passion for poetry.
Jared may be a musician and an actor, but he respects ALL forms of art.
And he highlights fan art.
Like this super cool illustration:
His eyessssss AHHHH.
I mean, COME ON. They’re hypnotic.
And his STYLE.
Honestly, he looks like a fashion model, ALL the time.
But he isn’t afraid to wear silly stuff.
Like this pure brilliance:
He knows what’s important in life.
Like chocolate. Chocolate is VERY important.
Gifs like this exist.
Because he’s just a gem of a human. Happy birthday, Jared! We’ll love you forever. <3
(Images via Instagram, Twitter.)
