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Actor and musician Jared Leto has become the first person to legally climb to the top of the Empire State Building in New York City.
The Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman climbed the 1,250-foot building (not counting its iconic antenna) to promote and celebrate the band’s new album, “It’s the End of the World but It’s a Beautiful Day,” and the Seasons World Tour happening next year.
“I made it, I’m alive, I made it to the top. I was just saying I saw my mother in the window of the 80th floor, and that was a nice surprise,” Leto told “Today” following the climb.
Why did he do it?
“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.”
Leto says he was more excited than nervous for the climb, but that it was challenging.
“It was very, very hard,” he said. “It was a lot harder than I thought it would be.”
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Alain Robert, a rock climber known as the French Spiderman who has climbed many urban skyscrapers, made an illegal ascent of the iconic building in the 1990s, but Leto’s climb was on the up and up.
The Hollywood Reporter says that Leto, 51, is an avid rock climber who made a 20-minute ascent from floor 86 to 104 and then up several tiers to the base of the building’s antenna. He wore safety gear and was secured with ropes, just in case.
Leto is no stranger to dangerous stunts. In June, he scaled a hotel wall in Berlin, Germany, without a harness, and went bungee jumping during a Thirty Seconds to Mars set at the Austin City Limits Music Festival just last month.
The Empire State Building shared photos of Leto’s latest climb on social media that show the entertainer climbing the side of the building and reaching the top.
.@JaredLeto scales the Empire State Building. pic.twitter.com/SnW68huPOX
— Empire State Building (@EmpireStateBldg) November 9, 2023
“In a lot of ways, this album is about following your dreams and pushing yourself to do the seemingly impossible. Climbing the Empire State Building certainly falls into that category for me,” Leto wrote on Instagram following the climb. “As does touring the world with my brother and sharing these unforgettable concerts and experiences with you all.”
The Thirty Seconds to Mars Seasons World Tour 2024 begins in March and will head to North America on July 26. Tickets are available now.
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