Jared Leto is unrecognizable in 'House of Gucci'

Jared Leto is once again changing up his look in the name of his art.

In "House of Gucci," he is virtually unrecognizable in his role and that's something that makes him happy.

Somewhere, under the exterior of an overweight, bald man is the Oscar-winning actor. He plays Paolo Gucci in director Ridley Scott's "House of Gucci."

When offered the suggestion that there will be people who see the movie and say afterwards "I thought Jared Leto was in it," he had this to say: "I love the idea of transformation and just to see how far you can push yourself, physically and emotionally, to someplace new. I'm excited about that. I find it to be magical."

The film is actually inspired by an almost unbelievable real life story.

Jared plays a member of the Gucci family, a family about to be undone by an aggressive, ambitious woman who marries Paolo's cousin and then wants it all, at any cost, bringing betrayal, revenge and murder into the Gucci family.

"Somehow, they managed to keep this story kind of quiet on this side of the pond," Leto said. "You know, I think audiences will be quite shocked. It's fun to spend time with this dysfunctional family. And I was really proud to be a little part of it."

Leto is known for thinking outside the box when it comes to his acting choices. This film was no exception.

"When I read the script, I was actually sent it for a different character and I immediately responded to Paolo," he said. "He's an artist. He's a dreamer. He's full of life. He's big and boisterous and I was just really attracted to that."

He was also thrilled to have Al Pacino play his father in the film. When they first met on set, Leto says Pacino brushed him off, twice. Maybe it's because Leto was in character.

"And then," Leto said, "I guess someone whispered in his ear, 'That's Jared.' And he turned to me and he just basically fell on the floor. He couldn't believe it and, you know, I said, "Papa" and, you know, we were off to the races!"

R-rated "House of Gucci" is in theatres now.