Jared Leto One Ups Notorious Daredevil Tom Cruise By Scaling The Empire State Building, But Tells ‘Today Show’ It Was “A Lot Harder Than I Thought It Would Be”

Jared Leto completed an incredible feat this morning: he became the first person to ever legally climb the Empire State Building.

The Dallas Buyers Club actor paid a visit to The Today Show after completing the 20-minute climb from the 86th floor to the 104th floor of the iconic skyscraper on Thursday (Nov. 9) morning.

“I was more excited than nervous to tell you the truth,” Leto said. “But I have to be honest, it was very, very hard. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be.”

He continued, “It’s incredible. To watch the sun rise overlooking the city that’s meant so much to me.”

The actor told the Today Show hosts that climbing the Empire State Building was a longtime bucket list item of his. But he also completed the climb to promote the world tour his band, Thirty Seconds to Mars, will be embarking on in 2024.

He continued, “Ever since I was a kid, New York stood for the place that you went to make your dreams come true. And as a young kid, I wanted to be an artist, and New York was the place that you came to be an artist. And the Empire State Building was always that symbol for me.”

Jared Leto @JaredLeto joins TODAY in an exclusive interview right after he climbed part of the outside of the Empire State Building @EmpireStateBldg!

The actor and singer spoke about his journey and shared an announcement from his band Thirty Seconds to Mars @30SECONDSTOMARS. pic.twitter.com/8x0lMSBgqj

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 9, 2023

Leto climbed up to the top of the building where the lights are located, and then climbed all three tiers before making it to the ice shield. He also saw his mother in the window during his climb. “That was a nice surprise,” Leto said.

While the climb certainly tested his “stamina” and “endurance,” the actor mentioned that the building was also “very sharp.” He showed the Today Show hosts that he injured his hand, which appeared to have been cut during his climb to the top.

Craig Melvin later asked him what he plans to climb next now that he completed this amazing feat.

“Into bed,” he joked. “You climb right into bed.”

The Suicide Squad star is certainly an avid climber.

He recently shared a video on social media that showed him climbing the wall of a hotel in Berlin with no harness – seemingly for no reason at all. It looks like he was likely preparing for climbing the Empire State Building!