Jared Leto On Excessive Drug Use: ‘I Took It For A Ride And Then It Took Me For A Ride’

Actor Jared Leto talked during a recent podcast appearance about being introduced to illicit substances at a young age and letting them take him “for a ride” when he got older.

The 51-year-old Academy Award winner described his experiences during an appearance on “The Zane Lowe Show” this week, per Page Six

“I grew up in an environment where there were drugs around. I mean, I knew what the smell of weed is as a very, very young kid,” Leto said.

“I remember walking by some trees, like bushes or something as a young kid, very young kid, maybe, I don’t know, fourth grade or something. And saying to the other kids, ‘Oh, someone’s smoking pot there.’ They’re like, ‘What do you mean? What’s pot?’ They didn’t know what that certain spice was. But for us it was pretty normal.”

He described having curiosity about drugs that eventually turned into dependence.

“I was always interested in that,” he told Lowe. “I was always interested in drugs. I was always interested in an experience. I was interested in taking some risk, yeah.”

“I think that’s probably common for people that like to experiment or explore,” the “Suicide Squad” actor continued. “Addiction is a whole another part of it, of course. Taking drugs is one thing, but does it start taking you?”

“I took it for a ride, and then it took me for a ride for sure,” Leto added.

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The actor later talked about realizing things needed to change.

“I had a moment of clarity. I had an epiphany. There were two paths that I could take in life, I guess is the only way I can describe it,” Leto said. “I took that path. I’ve had very close friends that didn’t, and they’re not here anymore. Many.”

Leto was raised by a single mother, Constance “Connie” Leto, and previously expressed gratitude for her influence on his life. 

“I was raised around a lot of artists, musicians, photographers, painters and people that were in theater,” Leto said during a 2014 interview with Focus Features. “Just having the art communal hippie experience as a child, there wasn’t a clear line that was drawn. We celebrated creative experience and creative expression. We didn’t try and curtail it and stunt any of that kind of growth.”

Susan Sarandon Recalls Wedding Drama, Including Pregnant Mom And Brother Who ‘Hooked Up’ With A Bridesmaid

Actress Susan Sarandon recalled some of the wilder moments from her wedding to ex-husband Chris Sarandon in 1967.

The 76-year-old celebrity discussed the event during an appearance on Chris’ podcast “Cooking by Heart.” 

Susan was 20 at the time and said her parents disapproved of them marrying for a few reasons. “What happened was, we said, ‘Look, I wanna move out, and we’re gonna live together.’ And you definitely couldn’t do that unless you were married at that time, back in the Middle Ages at a Catholic college,” she said.

The Academy Award winner clarified that her parents “loved Chris,” but “suddenly something happened” that made them averse to the nuptials. She said her mom was pregnant at the time.

“I think she was embarrassed,” Susan explained. “She was 44. She didn’t say that, she just said, ‘No, now you can’t get married.'”

The actress asked if having a small wedding would make a difference but her mom allegedly said, “‘No, if I say you can’t get married, you can’t get married.'”

Susan went ahead with the ceremony and recalled how her mom “was in a black raincoat, sitting at the back of the church for like 10 minutes.”

“And none of my siblings could come except my brother that was right under me, who insisted upon coming,” the “Thelma & Louise” the actress added. “And luckily he hooked up with one of the bridesmaids, so it was a very successful trip.”

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Susan and Chris divorced in 1979 but still speak fondly of each other.

 “We both have very strong feelings for that part of our lives and how those formative relationships are always important, and you can’t leave them behind totally,” Chris told People. “You have to revisit them sometimes — if not in nostalgia, more in the sense of, yeah, there was love there, and it still exists on a different level. It’s not romantic love, but still there’s love there.”

He also called Susan “an extraordinary human being.” 

“Her evolution as both an actress and as a social activist has been so extraordinarily heartening in many ways to me, because obviously I knew her when, and to see that occur in such a healthy and humanitarian way, humanistic way, is very gratifying,” the “Princess Bride” star continued.

“I knew she was a terrific person when we were together, and she’s still a terrific person. She’s a wonderful person,” he said.

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