‘We Crashed’: Jared Leto On Initially Being “Seduced” By Damien Chazelle, His “Perfect Partner” Anne Hathaway & More [Interview]

From creators, showrunners and writers Drew Crevello & Lee Eisenberg — Crevello, a former Fox exec who oversaw films like “Deadpool,” and “X-Men: First Class,” Eisenberg, known for writing comedies like “Bad Teacher” and “Good Boys” with Gene StupnitskyApple TV+‘s “We Crashed” is one of the most surprising mini-series of the year. About former WeWork CEO and Israeli businessman Adam Neumann and his equally ambitious and entrepreneurial wife and partner Rebekah Neumann, and the rise and fall of their former company — at one point valued at $49 billion — we’ve seen a lot of tech grifter TV this year. There’s “The Dropout,” about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, “Super Pumped,” about the rise and fall of Uber’s former CEO Travis Kalanick, and more. And “WeCrashed” could easily be a takedown of the hubris, arrogance, and outrageous behavior of Neumann, his fall from grace, and a wickedly mocking look at their failure.

Instead, “WeCrashed” is an inspiring love story about the rocket fuel of love that took two ambitious dreamers to such great heights. Yes, you can’t help but laugh at some of the outlandish things that come out of both of their mouths, but the series has just as much awe for what they accomplished, as it does sly, exasperated disbelief about how they burned it all down. It’s about as fair and empathetic a portrayal of a grifter and con-man as you’ll ever see, humanizing its players and trying to understand where they all went wrong (and yes, it’s very wry, funny, entertaining, and doesn’t let them off the hook either).

Bringing to life the Neumanns and making them fully dimensionalized people, all their ridiculous, self-important foibles and all is Jared Leto as Adam and Anne Hathaway as Rebekah, and watching these two Academy Award-winners go toe-to-toe is just dizzyingly dynamic. Playing the self-styled, self-possessed Jesus guru tech genius, Adam Neumann —an Icarus who has the stones to think he can convince the sun to cut him a deal in the flying-too-close zone — is Leto in one of his boldest performances, a rock star feeding off the energy of those who believe in the supernova of his know-no-heights ego.

Leto’s degree of difficulty is deceptively high. His garrulous character delivers a mile-a-minute dialogue, he’s the ultimate vainglorious salesman who believes he can sway anyone to join his team, his vision and self-belief are razor-sharp and all the while, Leto’s doing it all with prosthetics and a thick, musical Israeli accent, while managing a lot of hilarious minute comedy that is never once played for laughs (I also contend this is one of the most misunderstood and misperceived shows of the year). It’s honestly one of Leto’s best roles, and he is utterly magnetic and convincing in the role, you would follow his Adam Neumann into any battle, believing victory was ahead despite dire odds.

I spoke to Leto by phone while he was on a hike with his mother in the mountains and we dove into all the subtle details of “We Crashed,” including how he was initially “seduced” onto the project by director Damien Chazelle. The “La La Land” filmmaker was initially supposed to direct and produce, but was sidetracked by his film “Babylon,” and had to exit, but Leto was in so deep with the character, his research, and his commitment to the role, that there was no going back.

I love “WeCrashed.” There’s a terrific tonal balance throughout, of comedy but also real empathy. You and Anne Hathaway are terrific in it. Tell me all about how you got involved and how much you knew about the Adam Neumann/WeWork story before you started?
I didn’t know very much compared to where I ended up. I had heard about Adam through friends that I have in the tech business and I knew about WeWork as I’d been in some WeWork spaces and was always very impressed with the product. There was a moment in which someone asked me if I was interested in investing in the company but it was a bit risky for me, so I didn’t and learned like everyone else through the podcast and the documentary, about what happened to the company.

Right, it was a bit unavoidable at that point in the news.
Yeah, but I don’t think I’ve ever been part of a story or a film or project that was so recently in the news, I love that part of it. It meant that there was a ton of research and available materials so I buried myself in it and started the process. 

I found it fascinating that one of the originators of this story, Lee Eisenberg, is known for a lot of R-Rated comedies like “Good Boys.” There’s a version of this show that could mock these people, easily. “WeCrashed,” instead, is a love story with empathy. Can you tell me a little bit about that, like what you might’ve initially expected versus the actual story?
Well, Lee and Drew, they’re great with comedy, but they also are really talented in kind of getting to the root of things and diving into the heart of the soul, the character. I was pretty clear from the jump that my interests were in examining humanity, and the characters, not just doing a two-dimensional takedown piece. We’ve seen plenty of that in the world. It’s much more interesting for all of us to build a life and to look at the greatest successes and the greatest failures, the heart and soul, all of it, the relationship, the dreams, and also the mistakes. Another example of their skill set is their ability and openness. In the moment, these are guys that are highly intuitive and have to throw everything out and start a new direction and come up with an idea on the spot, all in service of kind of the greater goal. But when I originally signed on Damien Chazelle was actually directing.

Oh, wow, I think I forgot about that, to be honest.
Yeah. Damien is who initially talked to me, kind of seduced me into the role, and then he had stepped off for his film, “Babylon,” but I was in too deep, and then of course we had a bunch of really talented, incredible directors.

Yes. The list of filmmakers on this— John Requa & Glenn Ficarra, Cory Finley, Tinge Krishnan, Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini — is terrific.
I think everybody was probably counting on a lot of the comedy to come from supporting players, but it was clear to me soon as I started the research and I read the kind of initial material, that there was a lot of room to breathe in both directions. And I think all of us were kind of relieved and pleasantly surprised that there was a chance for comedy with the character Adam. Because I think that if we didn’t, it would’ve been exhausting. There wouldn’t be any relief. He was a very funny guy, he’s a very personable guy. And it is part of his character and the situations are just outrageous at times.

One of the things I find so remarkable is that the comedy is so subtle, no one’s really playing anything for a laugh, like you suggested, sort of letting the outrageous be the outrageous and not overselling it.
I appreciate it. That’s the good thing about acting, all you need is one. There are plenty of takes and sometimes it’s a great way to kind of get to where you need to go. I mean, there is a f*cking great blooper reel somewhere [laughs]/I’ve done a lot of darker things in my life, it’s been intense and probably at times heartbreaking for audiences, and for me, but it’s nice to do something that people enjoy as well.

This doesn’t seem any less rigorous than your past roles in a way. There’s a hyper-specific tone of minute comedy that seems like you’d have to be vigilant about, your character is so effusive, a big, outrageous personality and then you’re doing this Israeli accent, which oh man, I love. The Israeli accent is so musical.
Yes! It is musical, that’s a great way to put it. There’s a lot of melody in it. I had just come off of doing Italian for “House of Gucci” and I went right into Israeli without a day’s breath. And I loved the challenge of it. Hands down, this was the most physically demanding role I’ve ever taken on, even though it was all dialogue. The way that the character spoke and the intensity and the amount of words. It was really a marathon — absolutely and utterly exhausting and incredibly fulfilling and exciting. Every day, there was something, some kind of monumental theme or moment. It taught me so much and I just have a lot of gratitude.

We Crashed, Jared Leto

And you had this amazing scene partner in Anne Hathaway. Was she cast before you were, was she part of the draw? The two of you are so wonderful to watch.
I think I was the first one hypnotized by the opportunity [Laughs] and then as soon as they brought Annie’s name up, of course! You hope everything works out. I mean, she’s hands down one of the greatest ever. She’s just such a natural talent and just a full-on pro — a consummate real actor. The great thing about working with Annie is that no matter what, you’re going to end up with something special. She was just a perfect partner really. I think we both recognized there was an opportunity there and we were excited to take advantage of that.

You guys really go for it, in this big, bold way. You also met with Adam Neumann, right? What was that like?
Yes, I did. It was interesting. It was kind of a covert meeting, but I thought I might regret it if I didn’t meet him. I liked him a lot, I brought a lot of questions and got to kind of observe him and that was all helpful. I met him, and back then, it was a big family and it’s a beautiful thing that they have together, they have each other amidst all their successes and their mistakes. It’s pretty mind-boggling to see that connection and that loyalty and that partnership that they have which is really enviable.

One of the things that surprised me so much was how much of it was a love story — the two feeding each other’s ambitions to such great heights, maybe supercharging it too much. Was that a surprise to you?
Yeah, initially, to be honest, because I was more interested in the story of the business and the dreams. But I think that worked in parallel with Adam’s interests — exceeding and building a business that he was proud of and she was an integral part of the success and the dream. And, he confirmed all of that when I saw him, he was very vocal about how important she was to him and his success and what an impact she made on him and the business.

Right, it’s all part and parcel in the end, their love, their dreams, their success, maybe love is the rocket fuel of it all.
Yeah. It’s very amazing. And you know, what I love about the story is an immigrant who comes, builds a company, and turns it into a $47 billion empire. It’s still valued at $9 billion. That’s far cry from $49, but still a far cry from zero too.

Very much so. I wanted to talk to you about working with John Requa and Glen Ficarra and some of the other directors on the series, as you said, a stacked team.
I really enjoyed them, they were key in figuring out tone and humor. We were all learning together in the first couple of episodes, it gave us a chance to figure out: you’re never ready until you have to be. Those guys are awesome, I’d love to work with them again. Lee and Drew as well. They’re just terrific teams, terrific directors. But I have to say, the crew of this was just outstanding, the PAs, the grips,  they were so key to making this such a special experience.

We Crashed, Jared Leto

That’s amazing. You were going to work with John and Glenn on the Joker and Harley Quinn spin-off, right? Can you tell me about that at all?
Well, you know, I didn’t really know too much about that script, to be honest, just heard they were writing it and that’s about it. They’re really inspiring though and….

{Editor’s note: like some dark comedic cosmic joke at me, just when I was going to try and ask more about the Joker and Harley, maybe a little “Morbius,” the phone cut out. After about 10-15 minutes, Leto returned, but we were essentially out of time]

I gotta let you go, and this connection is obviously bad, but are we going to see you in any of your superhero roles again, Morbius or Joker?
Well, as the old thing goes, never say never.

“We Crashed” is available on Apple TV+ now.