Jared Leto underwent a dramatic transformation on Monday – the Oscar-winning actor cut off his famous long hair and shaved off his beard, before taking to Instagram to debut his new look. The 43-year-old actor, well-known for his distinctive hair, shared two black and white photos with his shocked fans - before and after he went for the chop. The first snapshot is a close-up of a pair of scissors held up to his ponytail, moments before it was cut off. He captioned the photo, "I miss my beard already," confirming that his facial hair had also been removed.
© Photo: InstagramJared Leto shared a photo moments before his long hair was cut off
Jared then posted a picture of his clean new look, simply writing "…#gone!" alongside. The star has chopped off his hair to play the Joker in the upcoming film Suicide Squad. Despite having big shoes to fill – Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger both famously played the iconic Batman villain – Jared has said he was drawn to the role. "The opportunity to take on this nearly Shakespearean character – that’s what graphic novels are becoming, right? (He's) this beautiful disaster of a character – what a big challenge," he said.
© Photo: InstagramJared Leto then debuted his brand new look on Instagram
Jared will star in the film alongside Will Smith as Deadshot, and Margot Robbie, who has been cast as Harley Quinn. British model Cara Delevingne will appear in the movie, which is due out in 2016, as Enchantress. It's not just Jared's hair that had to change for the role; he also needs to put on weight to play the supervillain. The 30 Seconds to Mars frontman famously went through the opposite transformation and lost a significant amount of weight to play transgender AIDS patient Rayon in Dallas Buyer's Club, for which he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe Oscar-winner will play the Joker in Suicide Squad
"I'm trying to gain weight,' Jared confirmed to Billboard magazine in February. "It means I have to eat every couple of hours and I'm terrible at eating a lot." Of extreme weight regimens, he added, "It can be an incredibly rewarding, but also destructive, thing to do. Your body changes forever."
