Jared Leto Opens Up About His Previous Substance Abuse: “I Was Studying To Be A Painter And A Professional Drug User At The Same Time”

Jared Leto opened up about his previous substance abuse and how he eventually “took [the] path” to success.

In an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Leto explained that he “grew up in an environment where there were drugs around,” adding that he “knew what the smell of weed is as a very, very young kid.”

“I was always interested in drugs,” he said, adding that he was also interested in “the experience” and “taking some risk.”

While he speculated that drug use is “probably common for people that like to experiment or explore,” he highlighted that “addiction is a whole other part of it, of course.”

“Taking drugs is one thing, but does it start taking you?” he asked. “And my experience was certainly one that… you know, I took it for a ride, and then it took me for a ride, for sure.”

“I don’t know how you got off,” Lowe told the Suicide Squad star. “I mean, it’s not common people get off the ride.”

Leto affirmed that “it’s not” common, and revealed that he “really had an epiphany” and “a moment of clarity,” in which he realized that he “wanted to hopefully accomplish things in [his] life that [he] was proud of.”

When Lowe asked if this was a “spiritual experience” of his, Leto said that “phrase can evoke sort of a hokey thing.” However, he acknowledged that “there were two paths that I could take in life,” and he took the one that led him to success, as both an actor and a musician in his rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, where he plays in alongside his brother, Shannon Leto.

“I took that path,” he shared. “And I’ve had very close friends who didn’t, and they’re not here anymore. Many.”

After Lowe brought up how he feels that “it’s always been about the music” for Leto in terms of his career in the entertainment industry, Leto told him that he “started as an art school kid,” and that growing up around a lot of artists, both he and his brother “completely expected that [they] would be an artist of some kind.”

“I was studying to be a painter and a professional drug user at the same time,” he said. “Not a bad dealer, either. But in that process, I started to fall more and more in love with art.”

Watch the full interview above.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357.