Jared Leto Reacts to House of Gucci Critics: “I Don’t Look at Reviews”

From The Joker to Morbius the Living Vampire, Jared Leto has become no stranger to buzzed-about performances. It’s safe to say that the actor’s recent turn in House of Gucci has been within that category, as his turn as fashion designer and businessman Paolo Gucci has taken the Internet by storm. Leto’s take on the real-life figure — which included significant prosthetic makeup and a performance that was quickly lauded as over the top, even drawing comparisons to Nintendo’s Wario and Walugi. In a recent interview with Screendaily, Leto spoke about the response to his performance in House of Gucci — and revealed that he hasn’t actually paid attention to a lot of the responses.

“I can imagine [the reaction] because it’s a big swing,” Leto explained. “I don’t look at reviews, I don’t look at critics or read comments, but I tried my very best. Paolo is the best I can do. If you don’t like the work, that’s okay. I had a blast playing it, I dug in as deep as I could. It’s also that thing of if you’re not pissing people off then you’re doing something wrong. As an actor, if you want to put a dent in things you got to break things a bit, and not everyone’s going to understand that. So if that’s happening, then great.”

Leto also spoke about what drew him to playing Paolo, particularly his drive as an artist and creator.

“I could relate to Paolo’s desire to be taken seriously as an artist, his desire to be heard, his desire to create something special and share it with the world,” Leto revealed. “He reminded me a lot of my grandfather, who had a kind of mischievous charm to him and was gregarious and full of life and laughter. In my life I can be quite reserved and quiet unless I’m on stage [with his band 30 Seconds To Mars], so I love that Paolo was virtually singing and dancing all the time.”

House of Gucci is inspired by the shocking true story of the family empire behind the Italian fashion house of Gucci. Spanning three decades of love, betrayal, decadence, revenge, and ultimately murder, we see what a name means, what it’s worth, and how far a family will go for control. The film also stars Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Al Pacino, Salma Hayek, and Jeremy Irons.

What do you think of Jared Leto’s response to the reactions to House of Gucci? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!