Much has been said about Jared Leto going "method" on the set of the movies he stars in. After all, the stories from his Suicide Squad co-stars about him allegedly sending them everything from a live rat to bullets, a dead pig, anal beads, and used condoms are hard to forget.
Fortunately, things didn't get quite that weird when cameras were rolling on Masters of the Universe, though Leto did find a pretty unique way to portray Skeletor beyond the blue muscle suit.
We recently learned that the Oscar-winner was on set to shoot his scenes as the villainous Skeletor, despite speculation that this was largely a voiceover role. Now, some newly revealed behind-the-scenes photos (via SFFGazette.com) offer a first look at Leto in costume as the reboot's big bad.
Why does Leto appear to have blood smeared on his face? As Skeletor's skull was added in post-production with VFX, it turns out the actor donned "blood-like makeup" in an effort to help his co-stars fear the character.
Masters of the Universe director Travis Knight recently told ScreenRant, "I think the one thing that he did, which I understood why he did it, was he's wearing his prosthetic skeletal muscle suit. He's got the amazing costume on, but it's still just Jared's face because that was all replaced by a CGI skull. But he didn't want the other actors that he was sharing the scenes with to look at him and see Jared."
"He wanted them to look at him and see something scary. So he would put this kind of blood-like, smeary makeup on his face. So he looked scary as hell. He didn't look like Skeletor, but it just gave the other actor something to play off of, which is, as far as I'm concerned, an act of generosity, because he's looking at his other performer and wanting to make sure that they can live in the scene with him."
Alison Brie, who plays Evil-Lyn, has also discussed Leto's unique approach to bringing Skeletor to life. "Jared wore a full bodysuit. So, that blue muscled body was there every day with the cloak, with the boots, with the hands," she explained. "And then he actually sort of covered his face in blood, so that we were just terrified, which was a cool aspect."
"It was like, you came to set like, 'Oh, my God!' I think it wouldn’t have felt as magical, it wouldn’t have transported us as much just looking at Jared’s face every day and he knew that, so it was a scary, blood-covered face," Brie added.
It's an interesting approach on Leto's part, and one that it seems was appreciated by his director and co-stars. The actor has yet to address his performance as Skeletor in a meaningful way, as he was completely absent from the Masters of the Universe press tour.
Check out Leto's transformation into Masters of the Universe's Skeletor in the X post below.
In Masters of the Universe, Director Travis Knight brings the legendary franchise back to the big screen in this epic live-action adventure. After being separated for 15 years, the Sword of Power leads Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) back to Eternia, where he discovers his home shattered under the fiendish rule of Skeletor (Jared Leto).
To save his family and his world, Adam must join forces with his closest allies, Teela (Camila Mendes) and Duncan/Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba), and embrace his true destiny as He-Man — the most powerful man in the universe.
The supporting cast includes Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, Morena Baccarin as The Sorceress, James Purefoy as King Randor, Charlotte Riley as Queen Marlena, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson as Fisto, Kojo Attah as Tri-Klops, Sam C. Wilson as Trap Jaw, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as Goat Man, Jon Xue Zhang as Ram-Man, Stephen Adentan as Moss Man, James Wilkinson as Mekaneck, and Kristen Wiig as Roboto.
Masters of the Universe is now playing in theaters.