Denzel Washington Has No Time For Jared Leto's Bizarre Behavior

Jared Leto has had an interesting career, to say the least. He's found massive success as both a singer and actor, including taking home an Oscar for his work in Dallas Buyers Club. He has sold millions of albums as the frontman for 30 Seconds to Mars. He also kind of, maybe, allegedly started a cult that holds summer camps for devotees. Allegedly.

Through all of this, Leto has attained a larger-than-life status, and it's only been bolstered by some of the interesting stories about him from behind the scenes. Most notably, the actor made headlines while filming Suicide Squad for getting a little too into his role as the Joker. According to reports from several outlets, not only did he send a dead pig to his fellow cast members, but he also requested everyone in the cast and crew refer to him as Mistah J.

It's safe to say it was method acting taken to extreme, and it's all the more bizarre considering the fact that the Joker doesn't do anything like sending pigs to anyone in Suicide Squad. Still, it earned the film a ton of publicity, so it would make sense if he were to carry over that technique into a similar role — namely, that of suspected killer Albert Sparma in the neo-noir thriller The Little Things, which just debuted in theaters and on HBO Max. Co-star Denzel Washington has said Leto was on much better behavior during this production.

The Little Things stars a trio of Academy Award winners, with Washington, Leto, and Rami Malek all onboard. The gritty thriller follows two cops from different California counties who are on the hunt for a serial killer. Leto plays the suspected murderer, and while this role could have allowed him to let his method acting ways come into the picture yet again, Washington said there were no such shenanigans in an interview with USA Today.

When the subject of Leto's previous stunts came up, Washington shut it down, but also indicated the bizarre behavior would have stopped quickly had it appeared. He said,

"He didn't do any of that with me [...] He'd have been paid a visit. That wouldn't happen."

Apologies to everyone who was hoping for some on-set fireworks. On the contrary, Washington seems to have had a great time working on The Little Things, and had nothing but kind things to say about working with both Leto and Malek. He said:

"There's a whole crop of these younger actors, and it's fascinating to watch them coming up behind me [...] Jared is one, obviously, and Rami is doing great work. It's inspiring and like a wake-up call. It's like, I have to get my act together here. These guys ain't playing."

Washington doesn't seem to mind passing the torch, so to speak. In fact, he even paid to send the late Chadwick Boseman to the University of Oxford theater program in the '90s. It proved to be an investment very much worth making.

When it comes to adoration for one's co-stars, it went both ways on the set of The Little Things. In an interview with Variety's Awards Circuit Podcast, Leto revealed he was hesitant to join the cast of this movie because he had already played several characters with similar psychology. But when given the chance to work with this kind of talent, he just couldn't say no. He said:

"I'm with Denzel Washington and Rami Malek and [writer-director] John Lee Hancock; I thought, 'How can I not be a part of this incredible opportunity?' And I'm really glad that I did. Because it was, it was an absolute adventure."

Leto's certainly no stranger to the industry, but even seasoned veterans get starstruck once in a while, and there was plenty of intimidation to go around on the set of The Little Things. Leto explained:

"If he walked in the room, it's still 'Denzel Washington' to me. It's not like, 'Hey, what's up Denzel.' [...] I just have a lot of respect for him. It's not easy to do what he's done. And what he's done is he's been great in every single movie he's ever made."

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