Jared Leto tells all at Cannes: ‘I’ve only met my dad once’

THE Oscar-winner has spoken about his absent father in a revealing interview, and has a message for women after his role in Dallas Buyers Club: ‘I feel your pain, ladies’.

JARED Leto believes failure is a key to success but has another piece of advice: hard work.

Speaking at the global advertising and marketing conference in France known as the Cannes Lions, Leto told his adoring crowd that success took talent, luck, opportunity and one other ingredient.

“The bridge between reality and a dream is hard work.”

Co-stars turned Best Actor and Supporting Actor for Dallas Buyers Club. Picture: Jared Leto Instagram

Other factors, he added, included:

“You have to be good at managing your time, you have to be passionate about what you’re doing, you have to compelled beyond a reasonable doubt to do it.

“It’s an emotional hurricane and it can be pretty scary to walk that path because it is ripe with failure and imbalance. You need persistence. “

Ever the crowd pleaser, Leto wowed the audience with his jokes and willingness to engage with his audience, including inviting one young woman onto stage with him for a selfie, and mocking anyone who walked out before the session had finished.

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At one point, he even referenced his father, who walked out on he and his family when he was young, as someone walked out of the auditorium.

He jokingly compared the audience member to his dad: “I’ve only seen him once. No, twice. The second time was when he flicked his cigarette and walked out, saying I’m going to the shops to get some milk and we never saw him again.”

Asked about his opinion on women’s rights because of his role as transgender Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club, Leto again praised his “wonderful” single mum but stopped short of saying the role meant he was a spokesperson for women.

“It would be nice if I did have the right to speak on behalf of women. I’ve worn the heels, I’ve put on the tights and everything else, so I feel your pain ladies,” he said.

“As some of you may know if you saw the Oscars, I was raised by a wonderful single mom. So I’m all for women being in positions where they can actually participate and have real authority to change the world that we live in.”

Leto (left) with Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club.