10 Best Jared Leto Performances

Although Rayon was a fictional composite character created for the movie, the role was based on interviews with transgender people in reality. Leto was on Oscar winning form in the role, immersing himself entirely in the part.

The film brings the audience back to the very worst times of the HIV/AIDS crisis in America, where the disease was a death sentence and those who contracted it were treated with open hostility and fear. McConaghey's Ron Woodruff initially treats Leto's Rayon with loathing, though through their shared experience they learn to love one another.

While there are many stand out moments in Leto's performance in the film, the scene where she puts on the tailored suit to meet with her disapproving father is a particularly heartbreaking scene. Leto is lost in the part. Only Rayon is on screen.

Leto's casting in the role was not without controversy. Rayon, a transgender character, was seen by some activists as a missed opportunity to cast a transgender actor in the part. Had Leto's performance been subpar, this could have compounded the issue.

While the issue of casting cisgendered actors in transgendered roles continues in Hollywood and beyond, in the confines of this film at least, Leto delivers a powerhouse performance. It is not simply about his weight loss for the part and it is not simply the make up he wears. Leto brings Rayon to life in the short time that she has, quite rightly winning several awards for the part.