Morbius director Daniel Espinosa talks Jared Leto staying in character: "I almost never saw him getting into the role"

Jared Leto and Daniel Espinosa filming Morbius — (Image credit: Sony Pictures Releasing)

Jared Leto's reputation for method acting precedes him – and his latest film, the Sony/Marvel venture Morbius, naturally involved the actor going deep into his role.

Leto's last foray into the superhero genre was 2016's Suicide Squad, in which he played the Joker. Rumors swirled about the strange gifts Leto was sending his co-stars while in character as the Clown Prince of Crime, including a live mouse for co-star Margot Robbie.

But how did Leto approach getting into character as a living vampire? We asked Morbius director Daniel Espinosa just that.

"I almost never saw him getting into the role, it was more that Michael Morbius was on set," Espinosa tells GamesRadar+. "The moment he would exit his trailer, it would no longer be Jared Leto, and he would not want to be spoken to as Jared Leto. He's a very committed actor."

In Espinosa's opinion, that's a strength. "He's right in many ways," the director continues. "It's hard to hold on to character, so that being it during the whole day gives him a certain kind of freedom. Because, what many people, when they talk about Jared, they talk about the effort and how hard it is. But what's fun with working with Jared is that it's also very light and easy, because he is that person, so he can go anywhere."

Morbius follows Leto's titular character, who is a doctor afflicted with a rare blood disease. In pursuit of a cure, he accidentally contracts a far worse condition – vampirism.

The film releases in US theaters this April 1, and UK cinemas this March 31. While you wait, check out our guide to all of 2022's upcoming major movie release dates for everything else the year has in store, and see more from our interviews with Espinosa and Matt Smith.

I'm the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.