Jared Leto: ‘I’m Focused On What It Means To Be A Transsexual Woman’

Jared Leto has been known to go to great lengths for his movie roles, but the 40-year-old actor is taking it a step further to portray a transsexual woman in Dallas Buyer’s Club.

In the movie Leto plays an AIDS victim who is quickly wasting away, and in pursuit of a genuine experience the actor has been fasting to lose weight and even shaving his eyebrows. Not only is Leto aiming for a physical transformation, but has also worked hard to get into the right mental state to better understand the transsexual woman he plays.

In his first acting role in three years, Leto said he has been carefully dropping weight, but still feeling the effects of his crash diet.

It’s not been easy, Jared Leto said, but it’s worth it.

“Your body goes through weird stages,” Leto told Vulture. “Sometimes it’s hard to hold on to water. But for me, it’s not about the most weight I can lose, it’s more to represent the character. I’m focused on what it means to be a transsexual woman.”

Leto didn’t actually sign on to the movie until close to a month ago, but he’s joining a cast very dedicated to the performance. Co-star Matthew McConaughey has also lost a considerable amount of weight to play an AIDS victim.

Fasting has been difficult for Leto, but he notes that it has its benefits too.

“Historically, people have done it for pursuit of self, to achieve a meditative state, so I’m hoping for that, and not the other things.” Leto joked. “It’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

Jared Leto assured fans that he’s still in good health and spirits, even though his weight loss appears shocking.

“Thanks for all the concern.. energy a bit low but I’m doing OK over here! XO,” he tweeted.

As ABC News noted, making a big weight change for a film is nothing new to Jared Leto. Before Dallas Buyer’s Club, he lost 25 pounds for Requiem for a Dream and gained 60 pounds for his role in Chapter 27.