Jared Leto climbs Empire State Building: ‘Harder than I thought’

Jared Leto has become the first person ever to legally scale New York’s Empire State Building, officials of the historic landmark have confirmed.

On Thursday (9 November), the Morbius star, 51, climbed the east side of the skyscraper from floors 86 to 104. His roughly 20-minute ascent took him to the tallest point of the building, nearly 1,300 ft in the air.

Following the stunt, Leto spoke with NBC’s Today show, explaining he did it to fulfill one of his bucket list dreams and promote his rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars’s 2024 tour.

“I was more excited than nervous to tell you the truth,” the House of Gucci actor said. “But I have to be honest, it was very, very hard. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be.”

Explaining his choice of landmark, Leto said: “I’ve always had a fascination with the Empire State Building, and I love to climb.

“It’s incredible,” he added. “To watch the sunrise overlooking the city that’s meant so much to me. Ever since I was a kid, New York stood for the place that you went to make your dreams come true.”

The Suicide Squad actor has made headlines recently for completing wild stunts, in particular urban climbing.

“I do like to climb buildings in cities,” he said. “It’s a really fun thing to do.”

In June, Leto baffled passersby as he free-climbed a five-star Berlin hotel. A few months later, he completed another crazy stunt by bungee jumping from the top of some scaffolding to kick off his band’s concert at a Texas music festival.

Next year, Thirty Seconds to Mars will embark on a massive global tour, from March to September, in support of their latest album release, It’s the End of the World But It’s a Beautiful Day.

North American pre-sale tickets go on sale tomorrow (10 November) at 10am local time. Fans can use the password “seasons” to access pre-sale offers. General tickets will go on sale on Friday, 17 November.

The Los Angeles rock band was formed in 1998 by Leto and his older brother Shannon. Over the course of the group’s existence, they have dropped six studio albums, with their newest record released in September. Throughout the years, “The Kill” band has undergone various line-up changes; however, the Leto brothers have always remained.