Jared Leto came nearly 30 seconds closer to Mars on Thursday when he reached the iconic New York landmark.
The actor and singer climbed the exterior of the Empire State Building on Nov. 9, they take a trip to the top of one of the world’s largest signature buildings. He then spoke about it in a special interview with NAMUL.
“I was more excited than nervous to tell you the truth,” Leto said. “But I have to be honest, it was very difficult. It was more difficult than I thought.
“Just the endurance it took, the toughness it took, and it was very sharp.”
Leto, 51, showed evidence of those sharp corners when he held up his bloodied left hand.
He said he tried this to remove something he wanted from his bucket list, and he also advertised the upcoming world tour of his group, Thirty Seconds to Mars, which will start from March to September in 2024.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “Watching the sun rise over the city means a lot to me. Ever since I was a kid, New York represented a place where you went to make your dreams come true.
“And as a little kid, I wanted to be an artist, and New York was the place to be an artist. And the Empire State Building was always a symbol for me.”
The “WeCrashed” star climbed the east side of the building from the 86th to the 104th floor, a nearly 20-minute ride to a point nearly 1,300 feet in the air.
Leto reached the lighted part of the building and then climbed all three of its levels until he finished his ascent on the ice shield, which is below the famous roof of the building.
He also received emotional encouragement along the way.
“I got to the top, and I was like, I saw my mom in the 80th floor window, and that was a nice surprise,” Leto said.
He is the first person to ever officially climb to the top of the Empire State Building, history officials have confirmed TODAY. (Daredevil Alain Robert, known as the “French Spider-Man,” took down the building in a forbidden climb in 1994.)
“I’ve always been fascinated by the Empire State Building,” he said. “And I love climbing.”
During the climb, the “House of Gucci” actor was wearing full climbing gear with ropes to protect him in case he lost his grip.
Craig Melvin then asked him where he would climb after conquering the Empire State Building.
“Sleep on the bed,” Leto joked. “You get on the bed.”
While he likes national parks like Yosemite, Leto is more into urban climbing.
“I like to climb buildings in cities,” he said. “It’s a really fun thing to do.”
The upcoming tour is in support of the sixth studio album by Thirty Seconds to Mars, the rock band Leto formed in 1998 with his older brother, Shannon. The group released the song “It’s the End of the World but It’s a Beautiful Day” in September.
The “Morbius” star’s turn in King Kong at the Empire State Building was his latest daredevil moment.
The actor and singer’s past stunts include scaling a hotel wall in Berlin without a harness and bungee jumping from his concert stage in front of thousands. He also shared videos on Instagram of himself scaling a hotel wall in Berlin without a harness and jumping into a large crowd at a Thirty Seconds to Mars concert.
Leto is also an accomplished rock climber with the “Free Solo” star and famous rock climber Alex Honnold as a friend. He directed a five-part documentary in 2016 called “Great Wide Open” where he explored national parks such as Yosemite and Yellowstone.
Leto is also known for his outlandish fashion, including dressing as a cat at last year’s Met Gala and bringing a sculpture of himself to the 2019 Met Gala.
When she’s not climbing, acting or walking the runway, she can be found on stage. Thirty Seconds to Mars’ upcoming tour—their first headlining tour in five years—will span Latin America, Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.
