Jared Leto felt like he'd come out "to the zombie apocalypse" when he returned home from a silent retreat.
Jared Leto
The 'Suicide Squad' actor had gone on a two-week meditation trip - where he had no access to a phone, television or other media - last March and teachers made a decision not to let the participants know that the US had gone into lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic, and the 49-year-old star admitted he was "shocked" to see how much things had changed when he got back to Los Angeles.
Speaking to Jimmy Fallon on 'The Tonight Show', he said: "When I went away, there were about 150 cases and just in that short amount of time, when I came out, there was a shutdown, a state of emergency, and the whole world had changed.
“They made a decision, 'Let's not disturb the participants.'
"And I didn't turn on my phone until I went back to L.A. So, I drove the whole way trying to be, like, peaceful and zen, keep the feeling going. I got back, and I was, you know, kind of shocked. It was like Rip Van Winkle.”
And the 30 Seconds to Mars frontman admitted that even the "great tool" he'd learned to deal with stress while on the retreat didn't help him.
He continued: "It was shocking.
"I had this great tool to deal with ‘stress’ and things in life but I don’t think anything can quite prepare any of us for what we all went through at the beginning.”
The 'Dallas Buyers Club' actor had previously spoken of his shock at discovering the severity of the global health crisis after returning home from his retreat.
He wrote on Instagram at the time: "Wow. 12 days ago I began a silent meditation in the desert.
“We were totally isolated. No phone, no communication etc. We had no idea what was happening outside the facility. Walked out yesterday into a very different world. One that's been changed forever. Mind blowing—to say the least.
" I'm getting messages from friends and family all around the globe and catching up on what's going on.
"Hope you and yours are OK. Sending positive energy to all. Stay inside. Stay safe."
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