Morbius Director Confirms Jared Leto Used Wheelchair Throughout Filming

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Morbius Director Confirms Jared Leto Used Wheelchair Throughout Filming

Jared Leto is known for giving it his all when he’s cast in a role, and it seems like Morbius is no different, with Leto reportedly staying in character so often that he eventually was given a wheelchair to accommodate him.

Speaking to Uproxx on the recently released film, director Daniel Espinosa confirmed the reports, noting that Leto had initially taken to using crutches to travel about the set when needing to do things like use the bathroom. However, Leto would take so long that eventually he was given a wheelchair to move around to make things faster.

“Because I think that what Jared thinks, what Jared believes, is that somehow the pain of those movements, even when he was playing normal Michael Morbius, he needed, because he’s been having this pain his whole life,” he said. “Even though, as he’s alive and strong, it has to be a difference. Hey, man, it’s people’s processes.”

When asked if that might be frustrating as a director, Espinosa said that nearly every actor has their own unique, special process, and that he believes his job as a director is to support those processes.

“All of the actors believe in processes,” said Espinosa. “And you, as director, you support whatever makes it as good as you can be. But it’s more that I think the directors that don’t like actors get really frustrated about that. I think it’s really mysterious, what they do. Almost all actors, in general, have their own reputation of being an interesting person how he works with their characters. I think that all of them have these traits. If you want a completely normal person that does only things that you understand, then you’re in the wrong business. Because what’s different is what makes them tick. It’s very hard to be able to say, ‘I can take this part away and I will still get the same stuff from him.’ I don’t do that. I’m more to see like, ‘Hey, if you’re doing this, we have to do this.'”

Leto has been known for his method acting in a whole variety of films. He gained weight for Chapter 27, shed weight for Dallas Buyers Club, shed weight and stayed abstinent for Requiem for a Dream, wore blinding contact lenses in Blade Runner 2049, and, most infamously, sent anal beads and used condoms to his fellow cast members in Suicide Squad.

Based on the character created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Gil Kane in 1971, Morbius sees the introduction of Jared Leto as Marvel’s anti-hero Morbius the Living Vampire. Joining him are Matt Smith (Doctor Who) as Milo, Adria Arjona (Good Omens) as Martine Bancroft, Jared Harris (The Crown) as Morbius’ mentor, and Tyrese Gibson (Fast and the Furious) as an FBI Agent, with Michael Keaton reprising his role as Adrian Toomes/Vulture from Spider-Man: Homecoming.

The film recently launched to mostly negative reviews from both critics and fans alike, although the film has done somewhat decently at the box office, pulling in $39.1 million in its first weekend.