Editing Jared Leto (section)

=== 2000–2005: ''Requiem for a Dream'', other roles, ''Panic Room'' and ''A Beautiful Lie'' ===
Leto played Paul Allen, a rival of [[Patrick Bateman]], in the psychological thriller ''[[American Psycho (film)|American Psycho]]'' (2000). Though the film polarized audiences and critics, Leto's performance was well received.<ref name="Marx"/> The same year, he starred as heroin addict Harry Goldfarb in ''[[Requiem for a Dream]]'', an adaptation of [[Hubert Selby, Jr.]]'s [[Requiem for a Dream (novel)|novel of the same name]], directed by [[Darren Aronofsky]] and co-starring [[Ellen Burstyn]], [[Jennifer Connelly]], and [[Marlon Wayans]]. To prepare for his role, Leto lived on the streets of New York City and refrained from having sex for two months prior to shooting.<ref name="Milling">{{cite web|last=Milling|first=Robin|title=Jared Leto's Pains on 'Requiem'|url=http://www.albawaba.com/news/jared-leto%E2%80%99s-pains-%E2%80%98requiem%E2%80%99|publisher=[[Al Bawaba]]|date=September 26, 2000|access-date=January 26, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Hensley">{{cite web|url=http://movieline.com/2002/04/01/jared-leto-thriving-in-the-dark/|title=Jared Leto: Thriving in the Dark|first=Dennis|last=Hensley|date=April 1, 2002|publisher=[[Movieline]]|access-date=December 7, 2013|pages=1–2}}</ref> He starved himself for months, losing 28 pounds to realistically play his heroin addict character.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kirkland|first=Bruce|title=The starving artist|url=http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/Artists/L/Leto_Jared/2000/09/14/759819.html|work=[[Jam!]]|publisher=[[Canoe.ca]]|date=September 14, 2000|access-date=January 26, 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140214215140/http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/Artists/L/Leto_Jared/2000/09/14/759819.html|archive-date=February 14, 2014|url-status=usurped}}</ref> After the shooting of the film, Leto moved to Portugal and lived in a monastery for several months to gain weight.<ref name="Milling"/><ref name="Hensley"/> His performance received critical acclaim by film critics who notably praised the actor's emotional courage in portraying the character's physical and mental degradation. [[Peter Travers]] from ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' commented that Leto "excels by going beyond Harry's gaunt look to capture his grieving heart. His scenes with Ellen Burstyn as Sara, Harry's widowed mother, achieve a rare poignancy as son and mother drown in delusions."<ref name="Travers">{{cite magazine|last=Travers|first=Peter|title=Requiem for a Dream|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/requiem-for-a-dream-20001211|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=December 11, 2000|access-date=January 26, 2014|archive-date=December 10, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141210055627/http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/requiem-for-a-dream-20001211|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Leto next appeared in the independent film ''[[Highway (2002 film)|Highway]]''. Set in 1994, Jack Hayes (Leto) is caught with the wife of his employer, a Vegas thug, and flees to Seattle with his best friend, Pilot Kelvin ([[Jake Gyllenhaal]]), in the week preceding [[Kurt Cobain]]'s suicide. Filming finished in early 2000, but the film was not released until March 2002 on home video formats, although originally scheduled for a theatrical release.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kit|first=Zorianna|title=Cox to direct NL 'Afterworld|journal=The Hollywood Reporter|date=January 13, 1999}}</ref>

During this period Leto focused increasingly on his music career, working with producers [[Bob Ezrin]] and [[Brian Virtue]] on his band's debut album ''[[30 Seconds to Mars (album)|30 Seconds to Mars]]'', which was released on August 27, 2002, in the United States through Immortal and [[Virgin Records|Virgin]]. It reached number 107 on the US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] and number one on the US [[Top Heatseekers]].<ref name="2002charts">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/thirty-seconds-to-mars-mw0000223814/awards|title=30 Seconds to Mars: Awards|work=[[AllMusic]]|publisher=[[All Media Network]]|access-date=April 23, 2013}}</ref> Upon its release, ''30 Seconds to Mars'' was met with mostly positive reviews; music critic Megan O'Toole felt that the band managed to "carve out a unique niche for themselves in the rock realm."<ref>{{cite journal|title=30 Seconds to Mars|url=http://www.gazette.uwo.ca/2002/September/26/arts_and_entertainment2.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030419215415/http://www.gazette.uwo.ca/2002/September/26/arts_and_entertainment2.htm|archive-date=April 19, 2003|last=O'Toole|first=Megan|journal=[[UWO Gazette|The Gazette]]|date=September 26, 2002|volume=96|issue=17|access-date=May 29, 2014}}</ref> The album was a slow-burning success, and eventually sold two million copies worldwide.{{sfn|Evans|2011|p=29}}

Leto returned to acting in 2002 with the thriller ''[[Panic Room]]'', which marked his second teaming with director David Fincher. He played the supporting role of Junior, a burglar who terrorizes [[Jodie Foster]]'s character Meg Altman. The film was well received by critics and became a financial success, grossing nearly US$200 million worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/panic_room/|title=Panic Room (2002)|work=Rotten Tomatoes|date=March 29, 2002 |publisher=Flixster|access-date=December 7, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=panicroom.htm|title=Panic Room (2002)|publisher=Box Office Mojo|access-date=July 15, 2010}}</ref> Leto's next film was the 2004 biographical film ''[[Alexander (2004 film)|Alexander]]'', directed by [[Oliver Stone]]. He portrayed [[Hephaestion]], the closest friend of [[Alexander the Great]]. The film failed in the United States; Stone attributed its poor reception to disapproval of the depiction of Alexander's bisexuality, but it succeeded internationally, with worldwide revenue of US$167 million.<ref>{{cite web|last=Goodridge|first=Mike|url=http://www.advocate.com/news/2005/01/24/why-alexander-wont-meet-oscar|title=Why Alexander won't meet Oscar|date=January 24, 2005|work=[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]]|access-date=December 7, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=alexander.htm|title=Alexander (2004)|publisher=Box Office Mojo|access-date=January 28, 2014}}</ref>

The following year, Leto starred together with [[Nicolas Cage]] in the political crime thriller ''[[Lord of War]]''. He played Vitaly, the younger brother of illegal arms dealer Yuri Orlov. The film was officially endorsed by the human rights group [[Amnesty International]] for highlighting the [[arms trafficking]] by the international arms industry.{{sfn|Hamid|2006|p=52}} It was positively received by movie critics and was a moderate commercial success.<ref>{{cite news|last=Burr|first=Ty|url=https://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2005/09/16/provocative_war_skillfully_takes_aim/|title=Provocative 'War' skillfully takes aim|date=September 16, 2005|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|access-date=December 7, 2013}}</ref>

It took two years to record Thirty Seconds to Mars' second studio album ''[[A Beautiful Lie]]'', with the band traveling to four different continents to accommodate Leto's acting career. ''A Beautiful Lie'' was released on August 30, 2005, in the United States. It has since been certified platinum by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA), and has reached platinum and gold status in several countries, with a sales total of over four million.{{sfn|Winwood|2012|p=22}} The band heavily toured in support of the album and played at several major festivals, including [[Roskilde Festival|Roskilde]], [[Pinkpop]], [[Rock am Ring]], and [[Download Festival|Download]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/thirty-seconds-to-mars-mn0000485365/biography|title=Thirty Seconds to Mars|first=Andrew|last=Leahey|work=AllMusic|publisher=All Media Network|access-date=May 18, 2013}}</ref>