Jared Leto Becomes the 1st Person to Legally Climb NYC’s Empire State Building: ‘It Was Very Hard’

The Thirty Seconds to Mars singer admitted that he was ‘more excited than nervous’ but noted the climb was ‘a lot harder’ than he had anticipated . 

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November 9, 2023 3:45PM EST
Jared Leto
Image Credit: Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Jared Leto just made history as the first person to legally climb the Empire State Building. The Thirty Seconds to Mars rock star, 51, was much closer to Mars on November 9 as he scaled the side of the 1000+ foot skyscraper in New York City. 

In a video shared via social media, the Morbius star was seen fearlessly climbing toward the needle of the building, with only a harness strapped to him. Jared wore an orange jumpsuit but didn’t even have gloves on while he made his way up! 

After the Academy Award winner reached the top of the landmark, accomplishing a lifelong goal of his, Jared spoke with TODAY about the experience. 

“I was more excited than nervous to tell you the truth,” he said. “But I have to be honest, it was very, very hard. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Just the endurance that it took, the stamina that it took, and it was very sharp.”

The WeCrashed actor continued by calling the day “incredible” after scaling the east side of the building from the 86th to the 104th floors, according to the outlet. 

“It’s incredible to watch the sun rise overlooking the city that’s meant so much to me,” Jared pointed out. “Ever since I was a kid, New York stood for the place that you went to make your dreams come true. “And, as a young kid, I wanted to be an artist, and New York was the place that you came to be an artist. And the Empire State Building was always that symbol for me.” 

To keep him going, Jared saw his mom looking out at him from the inside of the building. “I made it to the top, and I was just saying, I saw my mother in the window of the 80th floor, and that was a nice surprise,” the Dallas Buyers Club star said. “I’ve always had a fascination with the Empire State Building, and I love to climb.” 

After being asked where he will climb next, Jared hilarious replied, “Into bed. You climb right into bed.”

Though this was definitely Jared’s biggest climbing feat, it wasn’t his first. In September, he shared Instagram clips of himself climbing the wall of a Berlin hotel without a harness or a rope. He also went bungee jumping into a huge crowd at a Thirty Seconds to Mars concert in October.