Jared Leto's Real Name: Jared Joseph Bryant

Quick answer: Jared Leto was born Jared Joseph Bryant on December 26, 1971, in Bossier City, Louisiana, according to the Library of Congress name authority. He uses the surname Leto, which comes from his stepfather. He won the Academy Award for best supporting actor for Dallas Buyers Club (2013) and fronts the rock band 30 Seconds to Mars (Library of Congress; Britannica).

Real name and early life

The LOC record files him as "Leto, Jared, 1971-." One citation describes him as lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and songwriter for Thirty Seconds to Mars and gives his "birth name: Jared Joseph Bryant." People reports that his parents were Constance Leto and Tony Bryant. Bryant left the family when the boys were infants, and their mother married ophthalmologist Carl Leto in 1979 (People). His older brother is Shannon Leto, the band's drummer.

Britannica says his mother raised him, moved around the country, and encouraged an appreciation for the arts. He studied painting at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and filmmaking at New York's School of Visual Arts before moving to Los Angeles in 1992.

Career highlights

After guest TV roles, he broke through as Jordan Catalano on My So-Called Life (1994–95) opposite Claire Danes. He played distance runner Steve Prefontaine in Prefontaine (1997) and appeared in The Thin Red Line (1998), Fight Club (1999), Girl, Interrupted (1999), and American Psycho (2000). For Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream (2000) he lost about 25 pounds. He later gained about 60 pounds to play Mark David Chapman in Chapter 27 (2007).

After Mr. Nobody (2009) he paused acting for music. He returned as Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club, winning both a Golden Globe and the Oscar. He played the Joker in Suicide Squad (2016) and appeared in Blade Runner 2049, The Little Things, House of Gucci, WeCrashed, Morbius, Tron: Ares (2025), and as Skeletor in Masters of the Universe (2026).

He and Shannon started 30 Seconds to Mars in 1998. Its second album, A Beautiful Lie (2005), went platinum, followed by This Is War, Love Lust Faith + Dreams, America, and It's the End of the World but It's a Beautiful Day (2023). Britannica reports that a 2026 BBC documentary aired sexual-misconduct allegations from four women. Leto called the claims "absolutely and categorically false."

Name notes for searchers

Bryant is his birth surname, and Leto is the family name he and his brother grew up using after their mother's 1979 marriage. Some websites list "Jared Joseph Leto" as his full name. The LOC citation used here gives Jared Joseph Bryant as his birth name. Band credits use both "Thirty Seconds to Mars" and "30 Seconds to Mars."