Photo: REX USA/David Fisher/Rex
Jared Leto started his life as an Oscar winner by asking journalists if they wanted to hold his statue. "Does anybody want to try it out for size? You can. If anybody wants to fondle. Here. Pass it around, but if you have swine flu, please don't touch," he joked. "I think I'm the first person to ever give their Oscar away for an orgy in the press room."
After the "orgy," Leto was asked to choose between standing on stage holding a guitar and standing on stage holding an Oscar. But, he rebuffed with a non-answer: "Well, the good news is I don't have to choose, right?" He then went on to point out the weird difference. "It's interesting. I told my brother that this is actually a very small venue for Thirty Seconds To Mars. But, of course, it's a different thing when you have to stand up there without your band in front of an obviously not Thirty Seconds To Mars audience. It's quite impressive, exhilarating, and very fun. To look down and see Leo, Meryl Streep, and, at one point in my speech, I found myself talking right to De Niro (as if the room wasn't intimidating enough). I was like, 'Bad choice. Let's go back over to my mom.'"
Leto took home the best supporting actor win for his portrayal of Rayon, a transgender character, in Dallas Buyer's Club. When making his acceptance speech, he didn't pass up the opportunity to use the podium to acknowledge current political uprisings in Ukraine and Venezuela, and oppression of any kind. Explaining that decision, he said, "Number one: [It's] important to me. Number two: Because I think it's appropriate material for the story and the film. And, number three: because that opportunity is real when you stand on that stage. You can either make it about yourself or you can hold up a mirror and shine a light, and that's what I chose to do tonight."