Strife on Mars

Led by Hollywood actor Jared Leto – whose credits include classic cult movies like American Psycho, Fight Club and Requiem For A Dream – 30 Seconds To Mars have over the past few years earned themselves a place in the front rank of the ever-expanding US emo-metal scene.

Their second and most recent album, 2005’s A Beautiful Lie, charted in the top 40 in both the UK and US, and indeed last year the record was certified platinum in America.
Of course, Leto’s involvement means that 30 Seconds To Mars’ back story is necessarily more exotic than the average group of angst-rockers. Jared formed the band ten years ago with his brother Shannon, in a line-up that also included Matt Wachter on bass. The group tried a number of different guitarists before settling on Tomo Millicevic, a musician whose parents relocated from Sarajevo to the US when he was still a child.
Not to be outdone on the glam front, Tomo’s sister, Ivana Millicevic, is an actress and model who, as well as playing Valenka in the Bond film Casino Royale, has appeared in Seinfeld and Friends. 30 Seconds To Mars built up a cult following in underground circles with their self-titled debut album (co-produced by legendary Alice Cooper/Pink Floyd man Bob Ezrin), before achieving crossover success with A Beautiful Lie.
Inevitably, coverage of the band has focused on Leto, an actor who, similarly to Johnny Depp, has eschewed the obvious teen heartthrob route for more challenging roles in left-field movies. Understandably enough, he has requested that interviewers focus on the band rather than his film career or personal life (after stepping out with Cameron Diaz for a while, he was subsequently “linked” with Scarlett Johansson), although once the tape recorder is off he happily chats to me about working with Fight Club/Panic Room director David Fincher, who has long been one of my favourite filmmakers.
I start by asking if he feels that 30 Seconds To Mars have properly established themselves as a band following the success of A Beautiful Lie.
“I think there are other things that help you feel established, or give you a sense of foundation,” says Leto, sitting in his room in the Morrison hotel on the January evening his band played two sell-out shows at The Ambassador, a friendly and laid-back individual.
“Selling records and winning awards are great, but we always think of those as bonuses. For us, what’s even more meaningful is the touring, and making a connection with people all over the world. Having that relationship has been the most exciting aspect, and I think it’s that element which has given us the feeling of being an established band.”
Has the band now taken over from his film career?
“In some ways, it’s become a bigger part of my life, because it’s demanded that,” replies Leto. “That works well for me because I don’t make a lot of films, and I tend to be really specific about what I like to do as an actor. It’s nice to have this incredible experience that I get to share with Tomo and Shannon, and it’s been a really wonderful journey. It’s been crazy, we never thought that it would happen quite the way it has.”
30 Seconds To Mars’ journey has certainly taken them to some fascinating locations. In recent times, they've filmed promo clips in both the People’s Republic of China and Greenland – the first time rock videos have been filmed in their entirety in either country.
“It was difficult to shoot in China, there was a process we had to go through,” reflects Jared. “There was a guy from the Ministry of Culture, I think, who had to be there the whole time, to make sure that there was nothing being filmed that was disrespectful. I had to write a letter to the government, because they wanted to know if the video was encouraging the overthrow of the People’s Republic of China. I had to assure them that it was more about a spiritual revolution, and being in competition with yourself.
“We shot it four hours outside of Shanghai, and you shouldn’t be able to have those kinds of experiences making videos, but somehow we get away with it. We kind of live by this rule that the experience of making a video has to be as powerful as the result, if not more so.”
One such experience was the group’s visit to Greenland, where they shot the promo for A Beautiful Lie’s title-track on a glacier. How did the trip come about?
“It’s something we’d wanted to do for a really long time,” Jared enthuses. “It was an idea that I had when the record first came out, and like everyone, seeing Al Gore’s film encouraged me. Obviously, having previously been to China, the label were a bit startled when we said we now wanted to go to Greenland (laughs). Someone actually said to me, ‘Tell them you want to go to Greenland, because everything after that they’ll say yes to!’
“That experience changed our lives, and again it was a case of the journey being the destination. If you could imagine what it’s like to be on the Moon, or Mars, that’s Greenland. It’s an enormous white tundra, although there are areas at this time of year that are totally black, with dark soil.
“One of the things we’re proudest about with this video is that it has an environmental message. We included the Inuit, the Greenland people, who are being affected by climate change today. Not hypothetically in twenty years, but today. We talked to one man who used to go hunting with his father when he was a kid, but he now can’t do that with his own son, because it’s unsafe. At one point he said, ‘the ice is rotten’, an interesting word to use. He said it’s too thin to walk on, but too thick still for a kayak.”
Shooting on a glacier must have been a pretty risky endeavour.
“It was the most dangerous thing that we’ve ever done,” admits Jared. “People thought we were out of our minds. But we wanted to do it. It’s basically a commercial for a website called abeautifullie.org, an environmental action site. It was directed by a very magical Greenlandic man, named Angakok Panipaq. He’s very strange, he’s a fisherman, and we thought, ‘Who better to take control of the video and guide us?’ And he was great.”
What are 30 Seconds To Mars’ future plans?
“Well, we’ve been touring for a few years now, so this leg is our last hurrah,” responds Jared. “With regard to a new album, we’re thinking about it, but nothing’s been decided yet. Right now, we’re just focused on finishing the tour. After that, we’ll see.”

A Beautiful Lie is out now on Virgin