Ask actor and 30 Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto whether the glitz of Hollywood or the grit of life in a rock and roll band will win the battle for his soul, and you won’t have to wait long for an answer.by jon wiederhornJared Leto isn’t just an accomplished actor and a talented songwriter; he also seems to be a gifted impressionist. Shortly after entering a spacious record company conference room, he barks at noone in particular, “Fuck you, you fucking fuck,” imitating Dennis Hopper’s nitrous-swilling Frank Booth character from Blue Velvet.Leto has just flown from Los Angeles to New York City to play a show with his band, 30 Seconds to Mars, and to talk about the group’s second record, A Beautiful Lie. He’s in a spirited mood—his Dennis Hopper is followed by a pretty spot-on Christopher Walken—and even offers up an off-color joke to loosen things up. “This guy calls up a girl on the phone, and she picks up the other line and he starts going, ‘Ooooh, yes. Oh, God, ohhh, ohhhh.’ So, the girl says, ‘Daddy, is that you?’ ”His bandmates—drummer and brother Shannon Leto, guitarist Tomo Milicevic, and bassist Matt Wachter—groan appreciatively, and Leto retorts in his Walken voice, “That’s just wrong, so wrong on so many levels.”Leto’s not a big guy, but he easily fills the room with his skewed charm and oddball sense of humor. However, as soon as the interview shifts out of let’s-break-the-ice mode, and Leto is asked about 30 Seconds to Mars, his smile vanishes and he turns as serious as a PBS newscaster. Unlike many musicians, he’s got something to say, and he wants to make sure his message sinks in. For Leto, writing songs, making albums, and touring isn’t a movie-star hobby or a side project, it’s a creative outlet that’s as important as air and addictive as crack.