Jared Leto went method on the set of Tron: Ares, director Joachim Rønning confirms, detailing how he was able to roll with the quirky star’s unusual process.

Leto’s offbeat and sometimes physically demanding acting techniques have been well-documented over the years. He famously gained 67 pounds to play Mark David Chapman in Chapter 27, giving himself gout in the process. For Dallas Buyers Club, his Oscar-winning role, he lost 30 pounds, and stayed in character during the entire shoot.

But the most far-out stories of Leto’s antics came from Suicide Squad. Accounts differ, but it’s been confirmed that Leto gifted Margot Robbie a live rat, that she later made a pet. Leto once alleged he sent used condoms and anal beads to co-stars, but in re-telling the story later, he was more vague about details.

The release of Tron: Ares on October 10 will give moviegoers another chance to witness Leto going full method, this time playing a computer program encountering reality for the first time.

In a recent interview with Liam Crowley for ScreenRant ahead of Tron: Ares‘ release, its director revealed that his star did indeed employ his famously immersive method approach to playing this unusual character:

I would say yes to that. And I know he’s a little wary about talking about his [process], I would say it’s his method. It’s like, yes, he’s in character for the most part when we did this film, but that’s great. Honestly for me as a director, whatever works, I think he’s one of the best actors in the world.

Rønning then talked about having to address Leto by his character’s name on-set:

Whatever works for him works for me and then some. But yeah, I do address him as Ares when we’re filming and everybody goes, we get a little bit up. He’s the general walking onto set, which is fine. And it’s not uncommon for actors to do it like that. And it works for him. And I think you can feel it in any movie he makes. He’s completely into the character.

Rønning ended by detailing Tron: Ares’ unusual shooting schedule, which saw the effects-heavy film being sH๏τ nearly chronologically, and how this played into Leto’s performance:

And it’s interesting how when we filmed, we started with Ares. We actually sH๏τ the film very chronological, which is rare when you make a big movie like this. So it was interesting to see his character evolve into a more curious character and kind of like a sponge coming into the real world and learning and what it means to be human and all of that. So I think I had a wonderful time working with him and it was amazing.

What This Means For Tron: Ares

Leto’s commitment to his process can’t be denied, and it seems he had a supportive director in Rønning, who appears to have taken his lead actor’s total immersion approach in stride. Rønning himself has compared Ares to Pinocchio, saying in a recent interview (via Empire):

Ares wants to be a real boy. We talked a lot about him almost being an infant, discovering the world for the first time, and how we wanted the audience to see the world through his eyes.

Leto channeling an infant sounds like a recipe for questionable behavior, but it seems Rønning was able to roll with whatever his star cooked up, including acting like a “general” on-set. Rønning gives no real specifics about what Leto’s Tron: Ares method acting actually entailed, as he treads lightly around the question, sensitive to Leto’s “wariness” about talking process.

One Tron: Ares star who isn’t shy about addressing Leto’s method acting is Jeff Bridges, back in the fold as Flynn, who talked openly during a 2025 Comic-Con panel about his own reaction to his co-star asking to be addressed by his character’s name (via THR):

I didn’t want to offend him as a thespo. But I thought, ‘I wanted to have a certain intimacy with you. I know your name is Ares. Can I just call you Air?’ He said, ‘Yeah man! You can call me whatever you want!’ We had a great time.

If Bridges is cool with it, perhaps everyone should be cool with it.

Our Take On Leto’s Method Acting In Tron: Ares

Leto’s acting choices on Tron: Ares can’t be judged until the film is actually released. His method approach may indeed have resulted in a memorable performance. He was certainly memorable in The Dallas Buyers Club, the film for which he won an Oscar.

But Leto’s method acting only hurt him playing the Joker, his take on the character being widely regarded as the worst ever, and there’s no reason to even recount the debacle that was Morbius. The choice of Leto as star of Tron: Ares was already divisive, and will only become more so if his performance doesn’t land for audiences.