title: Jared Leto

text: Leto is the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and main songwriter for Thirty Seconds to Mars, a band he formed in 1998 with his older brother Shannon Leto. Its debut album, "30 Seconds to Mars" (2002), was released to positive reviews but to limited commercial success. Its second album, "A Beautiful Lie" (2005), pushed the band into the public eye and the next releases, "This Is War" (2009) and "Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams" (2013), received further critical and commercial success. It was followed by "America" (2018), which polarized critics upon release. The band has sold over 15 million albums worldwide.


title: Jared Leto

text: Leto was born on December 26, 1971 in Bossier City, Louisiana to Constance Leto (née Metrejon). His mother has Cajun ancestry. Leto is his stepfather's surname. His parents divorced when he was a child, and he and his older brother, Shannon, lived with their mother and their maternal grandparents, Ruby (Russell) and William Lee Metrejon. After he remarried, his father committed suicide when Jared was eight. Leto moved frequently with his family from Louisiana to different cities around the country. "My mom's father was in the Air Force," Leto has explained, "so moving around a lot was a normal way of life." Leto has two younger half-brothers from his father's second marriage.


title: Jared Leto

text: Constance joined the hippie movement and encouraged her sons to get involved in the arts. Leto said he "was raised around a lot of artists, musicians, photographers, painters and people that were in theater," adding that "Just having the art communal hippie experience as a child, there wasn't a clear line that was drawn. We celebrated creative experience and creative expression. We didn't try and curtail it and stunt any of that kind of growth." Leto started playing music with his brother at an early age; his first musical instrument was a broken-down piano.


title: Jared Leto

text: After dropping out briefly in the 10th grade, Leto decided to return and focus on his education at the private Emerson Preparatory School in Washington, D.C. He was interested in large-scale visual art and enrolled at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. After developing an interest in filmmaking, he transferred to the School of Visual Arts in New York City. While he was a student there, he wrote and starred in his own short film, "Crying Joy". He also attended the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, now a part of George Washington University.


title: Jared Leto

text: In 1992, Leto moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in directing, intending to take acting roles on the side. He found minor roles on television shows but his first break came in 1994 when he was cast opposite Claire Danes as Jordan Catalano, her love interest, in the short-lived but well-reviewed ABC teen drama "My So-Called Life". The show was praised for its portrayal of adolescence and, despite its cancellation after one season, gained a strong cult following. The same year, Leto made his television film debut starring alongside Alicia Silverstone in "Cool and the Crazy", and landed his first film role in the 1995 drama "How to Make an American Quilt". He later co-starred with Christina Ricci in "The Last of the High Kings" (1996) and got a supporting role in "Switchback" (1997).


title: Jared Leto

text: In 1997, Leto starred in the biopic "Prefontaine" as Olympic hopeful Steve Prefontaine. To prepare for the role, Leto immersed himself in the runner's life, training for six weeks and meeting with members of his family and friends. He bore a striking resemblance to the real Prefontaine, also adopting the athlete's voice and upright running style. His portrayal received positive reviews from critics and is often considered his breakthrough role. Peter Stack of the "San Francisco Chronicle" noted: "With hypnotic blue eyes and dirty blond hair, Leto captures the rock-star style Prefontaine affected, and he looks natural in fiery performances on the track, as well as off, where Pre affected a brash, confrontational style."


title: Jared Leto

text: After landing the lead role of a British aristocrat in the 1998 drama "Basil", Leto starred in the horror "Urban Legend". It was poorly received by most critics, but was a financial success. That year, Terrence Malick cast Leto for a supporting role in the war film "The Thin Red Line" alongside Sean Penn and Adrien Brody. It garnered mostly positive reviews and was a moderate success. It received multiple awards and nominations, including seven Academy Award nominations; Leto shared a Satellite Award with the rest of the cast.


title: Jared Leto

text: Leto formed the rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars in 1998 in Los Angeles, California with his brother Shannon. When the group first started, Jared Leto did not allow his position of Hollywood actor to be used in promotion of the band. Their debut album had been in the works for a couple of years, with Leto writing the majority of the songs. Their work led to a number of record labels being interested in signing Thirty Seconds to Mars, which eventually signed to Immortal Records.


title: Jared Leto

text: In 1999, Leto played a gay high school teacher who attracts the attentions of Robert Downey, Jr. in "Black and White", and had a supporting role in the drama "Girl, Interrupted", an adaptation of the memoir of the same name by Susanna Kaysen. He then portrayed Angel Face in "Fight Club" (1999), a film adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's novel of the same name, directed by David Fincher. He began dating actress Cameron Diaz in 1999 and the couple became engaged in 2000.


title: Jared Leto

text: Leto played Paul Allen, a rival of Patrick Bateman, in the psychological thriller "American Psycho" (2000). Though the film polarized audiences and critics, Leto's performance was well received. The same year, he starred as heroin addict Harry Goldfarb in "Requiem for a Dream", an adaptation of Hubert Selby, Jr.'s novel of the same name, directed by Darren Aronofsky and co-starring Ellen Burstyn, Jennifer Connelly, and Marlon Wayans. To prepare for his role, Leto lived on the streets of New York City and refrained from having sex for two months prior to shooting. He starved himself for months, losing 28 pounds to realistically play his heroin addict character. After the shooting of the film, Leto moved to Portugal and lived in a monastery for several months to gain weight. His performance received critical acclaim by film critics who notably praised the actor's emotional courage in portraying the character's physical and mental degradation. Peter Travers from "Rolling Stone" commented that Leto "excels by going beyond Harry's gaunt look to capture his grieving heart. His scenes with Ellen Burstyn as Sara, Harry's widowed mother, achieve a rare poignancy as son and mother drown in delusions."


title: Jared Leto

text: Leto next appeared in the independent film "Highway". Set in 1994, Leto is caught with the wife of his employer, a Vegas thug, and flees to Seattle with his best friend Jake Gyllenhaal in the week preceding Kurt Cobain's suicide. Filming finished in early 2000, but the film was not released until March 2002 on home video formats, although originally scheduled for a theatrical release.


title: Jared Leto

text: During this period Leto focused increasingly on his music career, working with producers Bob Ezrin and Brian Virtue on his band's debut album "30 Seconds to Mars", which was released on August 27, 2002, in the United States through Immortal and Virgin. It reached number 107 on the US "Billboard" 200 and number one on the US Top Heatseekers. Upon its release, "30 Seconds to Mars" was met with mostly positive reviews; music critic Megan O'Toole felt that the band managed to "carve out a unique niche for themselves in the rock realm." The album was a slow-burning success, and eventually sold two million copies worldwide.


title: Jared Leto

text: Leto returned to acting in 2002 with the thriller "Panic Room", which marked his second teaming with director David Fincher. He played the supporting role of Junior, a burglar who terrorizes Jodie Foster's character Meg Altman. The film was well received by critics and became a financial success, grossing nearly US$200 million worldwide. In 2003, Leto and Cameron Diaz ended their four-year relationship. Leto's next film was the 2004 biographical film "Alexander", directed by Oliver Stone. He portrayed Hephaestion, the closest friend of Alexander the Great. The film failed in the United States; Stone attributed its poor reception to disapproval of the depiction of Alexander's bisexuality, but it succeeded internationally, with worldwide revenue of US$167 million.


title: Jared Leto

text: The following year, Leto starred together with Nicolas Cage in the political crime thriller "Lord of War". He played Vitaly, the younger brother of illegal arms dealer Yuri Orlov. The film was officially endorsed by the human rights group Amnesty International for highlighting the arms trafficking by the international arms industry. It was positively received by movie critics and was a moderate commercial success.


title: Jared Leto

text: It took two years to record Thirty Seconds to Mars' second studio album "A Beautiful Lie", with the band traveling to four different continents to accommodate Leto's acting career. "A Beautiful Lie" was released on August 30, 2005, in the United States. It has since been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and has reached platinum and gold status in several countries, with a sales total of over four million. The band heavily toured in support of the album and played at several major festivals, including Roskilde, Pinkpop, Rock am Ring, and Download.


title: Jared Leto

text: In 2006, Leto appeared in the neo-noir crime drama "Lonely Hearts", the true story of the notorious "lonely hearts killers" of the 1940s, Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck. Playing Fernandez, he co-starred with Salma Hayek who played the role Beck. The film received mixed reviews from critics; however, Leto's acting was widely praised; Heather Huntington from Reelz wrote that his "layered performance as the nattily dressing dandy with no remorse is truly impressive."


title: Jared Leto

text: The same year, Leto directed the music video for "The Kill", a song by Thirty Seconds to Mars. At a press release, he stated that an "insanely obnoxious Danish albino" named Bartholomew Cubbins directed the video. He later explained his decision to direct with a pseudonym saying, "I really wanted people to be able to enjoy and experience the video without having any more preconceived notions or distractions, and just to let it be what it was. It wasn't important for me to lay claim to it in that way." Bartholomew Cubbins is a recurring character in the Dr. Seuss universe and one of Leto's favorite characters created by the writer. "The Kill" was inspired by themes of isolation and insanity present in the Stanley Kubrick-directed psychological horror film "The Shining" (1980). Leto said, "The idea of isolation, identity, and self discovery were all elements present in the song. I thought this light homage was a good starting point and it soon grew to include many more elements outside of Kubrick's original piece." The short film received a largely positive response and numerous accolades, including an MTV Video Music Award. Leto next directed a short film for "From Yesterday". It was filmed in the Forbidden City and became the first ever American music video shot in the People's Republic of China in its entirety. Hundreds of costumed extras were employed for the shoot, inspired by the empires of ancient Chinese dynasties. Leto drew inspiration from Bernardo Bertolucci's historical drama "The Last Emperor" (1987) as well as the work of Akira Kurosawa.


title: Jared Leto

text: In 2007, Leto starred in the biographical film "Chapter 27". He portrayed Mark David Chapman, a fanatic fan of The Beatles and the murderer of John Lennon. Leto prepared for his role by relying on interviews with Chapman and on audiotapes recorded by a librarian the actor met during a visit to the inmate's hometown. Leto gained 67 pounds to approximate the killer's physique. The abruptness of his weight gain gave him gout. He was forced to use a wheelchair due to the stress the sudden increase in weight put on his body. After the shooting of the film, he quickly went on a liquid diet. "Chapter 27" premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Despite divided critical opinion on the film as a whole, Leto's performance was widely praised. Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly" considered his acting "a genuine transformation, as the actor submerges himself in Chapman's couch-potato flab and red-rimmed eyes. ... Leto disappears inside this angry, mouth-breathing psycho geek with a conviction that had me hanging on his every delusion."


title: Jared Leto

text: Leto's next short film was "A Beautiful Lie" (2008), which he directed under the pseudonym of Angakok Panipaq. The music video was filmed 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Greenland. Determined to offset the impact that filming would have on the environment, Leto worked with the Natural Resources Defense Council to develop strategies that would minimize fuel consumption on the shoot. Upon release, "A Beautiful Lie" was met with widespread critical acclaim, resulting in various accolades, including the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Video. Proceeds from the video's sales benefited the Natural Resources Defense Council. The same year, Leto remixed a version of the song "The Only One" by The Cure for their extended play "Hypnagogic States".


title: Jared Leto

text: In August 2008, during the recording process of their third studio album, Thirty Seconds to Mars attempted to sign with a new label, prompting EMI (the parent label of Virgin), to file a $30 million breach of contract lawsuit. After nearly a year of legal battles, the band announced on April 28, 2009, that the suit had been settled following a defence based on the De Havilland Law. Thirty Seconds to Mars then signed a new contract with EMI and released their third album "This Is War" in December 2009 to critical acclaim. "This Is War" reached the top ten of several national album charts and earned numerous music awards.


title: Jared Leto

text: Leto's next film was the 2009 science fiction drama "Mr. Nobody", directed by Jaco Van Dormael. He portrayed the title role of Nemo Nobody, the last mortal on Earth after the human race has achieved quasi-immortality. His role required him to play various versions of his character, from 34 to 118 years old, spending six hours daily for the full make-up and adopting the voice of an old-aged man. "Mr. Nobody" premiered at the 2009 Venice Film Festival. Critical response praised the film's artistry and Leto's performance. Boyd van Hoeij from "Variety" felt that "his acting talent really comes into full view in his scenes as the last dying man on Earth. Despite too much old-age makeup, Leto nevertheless infuses the character with some real raw emotional power;" while Bruce Kirkland of "Toronto Sun" claimed that Leto gave "a marvelously full-blooded, brain-spinning, tour-de-force performance."


title: Jared Leto

text: In 2009, Leto recruited scores of extras and all manner of surrealist street performers for the short film of "Kings and Queens", which features a critical mass movement founded with forward-thinking and eco-conscious intentions, through Los Angeles at night. The short film premiered on November 9, 2009, at the Montalban Theater in Los Angeles and was positively received. At the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, "Kings and Queens" received four nominations, including Video of the Year and Best Direction, and went on to win Best Rock Video. Thirty Seconds to Mars began their Into the Wild Tour in February 2010 and was among the hardest-working touring artists of the year.


title: Jared Leto

text: Leto filmed "Closer to the Edge" (2010), a short film featuring tour footage, fan commentary and pictures of Thirty Seconds to Mars from their youth, during the band's Into the Wild Tour. Critics lauded the simplicity of the video; James Montgomery from MTV wrote, "there's no denying the power of seeing tens of thousands of fans finding a simultaneous salvation, of a crowd of individuals becoming one. It's what rock and roll is supposed to be about, really: inclusion." In December 2011, Thirty Seconds to Mars entered the "Guinness World Records" for most live shows during a single album cycle, with 300 shows.


title: Jared Leto

text: Leto's next project was "Hurricane" (2010), an experimental short film which explores personal demons and unlocking secret fantasies in what is believed to be a dream. Leto filmed it in New York City and described its concept as a "surrealistic nightmare dream-fantasy." Upon release, "Hurricane" garnered controversy and was initially censored due to its elements of violence. At the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, the short film received three nominations in the categories of Best Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Editing.


title: Jared Leto

text: In 2012, Leto made his directorial debut with the documentary film "Artifact". It chronicles the modern music business as it charts the legal dispute between Thirty Seconds to Mars and record label EMI, after the band tried to exit its contract over a royalties dispute. "Artifact" was made on a limited budget provided by Leto and personal assistant Emma Ludbrook through the production company Sisyphus Corporation. It premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival where it received the People's Choice Award for Best Documentary. Critics praised the examination of the state of the modern music industry and its focus on the relationship between artists and record companies. The film received a limited theatrical release beginning November 23, 2013, before being released digitally on December 3, 2013.


title: Jared Leto

text: Thirty Seconds to Mars released their fourth album, "Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams", in May 2013 through Universal. The album was produced by Leto with previous collaborator Steve Lillywhite. It received generally positive reviews and reached the top ten in more than fifteen countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States. Leto filmed the 2013 short film for "Up in the Air" at a now-defunct aerospace manufacturing building in Los Angeles, California. He described it as a "bizarre and hallucinogenic journey through an incredibly surreal landscape." The short film features several artists, including burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese, gymnasts McKayla Maroney and Jordyn Wieber, writer Neil Strauss and a number of animals. It garnered several awards, including the MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video, and competed at the 2013 Camerimage.


title: Jared Leto

text: Leto described the concept of his next short film, "Do or Die" (2013), as a companion piece to "Closer to the Edge" (2010). It was filmed during the Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams Tour and features live footage of Thirty Seconds to Mars onstage as well as fan commentary. The same year, Leto directed the critically praised short film for "City of Angels", which premiered on October 12, 2013, at the Hollywood Bowl. The music video features a number of celebrities who join the three members of Thirty Seconds to Mars in sharing their visions about Los Angeles. Multiple monoliths and murals, including Michael Jackson and Marilyn Monroe impersonators, also appear, as well as homeless people hired by Leto himself for the video.


title: Jared Leto

text: After a five years hiatus from filming, Leto returned to act in the drama "Dallas Buyers Club" (2013), directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and co-starring Matthew McConaughey. Leto portrayed Rayon, a drug-addicted transgender woman with AIDS who befriends McConaughey's character Ron Woodroof. In order to accurately portray his role, Leto lost 30 pounds, shaved his eyebrows and waxed his entire body. He stated the portrayal was grounded in his meeting transgender people while researching the role. During filming, Leto refused to break character. "Dallas Buyers Club" received widespread critical acclaim and became a financial success, resulting in various accolades for Leto, who was awarded the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role and a variety of film critics' circle awards for the role.


title: Jared Leto

text: In 2014, Leto premiered the documentary series "Into the Wild", which tells the story behind the concert tour of the same name by Thirty Seconds to Mars that propelled the group into arenas around the world and was certified by the "Guinness World Records" as the longest running tour in the history of rock music. The series was produced by Leto and Emma Ludbrook and was released through the online platform VyRT. On November 3, 2015, it was announced that Thirty Seconds to Mars were working on their fifth studio album.


title: Jared Leto

text: In December of that year, Warner Bros. confirmed that Leto would play the role of the Joker in "Suicide Squad" (2016), a supervillain film based on the comic book series of the same name. Leto received some attention for his method acting during the film's production. Fellow "Suicide Squad" cast member Will Smith, who played Deadshot in the film, stated that he had "never actually met Jared Leto", saying, "We worked together for six months and we've never exchanged a word outside of 'action!' and 'cut!' We've never said 'hello,' we've never said 'good day.' I've only ever spoken to him as Deadshot and him as the Joker. I literally have not met him yet... Not a single word exchanged off-camera. He was all in on the Joker."


title: Jared Leto

text: Leto's method acting on "Suicide Squad" also reportedly involved sending unorthodox gifts to his fellow cast members, including live rats and bullets. His co-star Margot Robbie said that he gifted her a live rat, which she stated she kept as a pet until her landlord discovered it. Speaking with "Vanity Fair", Viola Davis stated, "He did some bad things, Jared Leto did. He gave some really horrific gifts. He had a henchman who would come into the rehearsal room, and the henchman came in with a dead pig and plopped it on the table, and then he walked out. And that was our introduction into Jared Leto." In an interview with "E! News" at the film's premiere in 2016, Leto claimed that he also sent anal beads and used condoms to his co-stars, stating, "I did a lot of things to create a dynamic, to create an element of surprise, of spontaneity, and to really break down any kind of walls that may be there. The Joker is somebody who doesn't really respect things like personal space or boundaries."


title: Jared Leto

text: In a 2021 interview with "Entertainment Weekly", Leto claimed that the comments he made at "Suicide Squad" premiere were "in jest", and stated that, "there were no used condoms [...] Any of the very few gifts that were ever given were given with a spirit of fun and adventure and received with laughter, fun, and adventure. It's all filmed! They filmed it all! People were dying. We were just having a goof." Regarding the rat he reportedly gave Robbie, he stated, "The only gifts I ever gave Margot were cupcakes. I think I gave her a mouse, and some of the other guys got gifts that you'd get as a joke at a party." He also added, "I'm an artist at the end of the day. If I do something risky and you don't like it, basically, you can kiss my ass."


title: Jared Leto

text: "Suicide Squad" opened to generally negative reviews from critics, but Leto's performance received some praise from critics despite his character's limited screen time. Following the film's release, Leto expressed interest in reprising his role as the Joker in future DC Extended Universe instalments. In October 2020, it was reported that Leto would reprise his role of the Joker in "Zack Snyder's Justice League".


title: Jared Leto

text: In April 2016, it was announced that Leto would appear in the film "The Outsider" (2018), directed by Martin Zandvliet. In August 2016, Thirty Seconds to Mars revealed they had signed to Interscope Records and confirmed that they were working on new music. That same month Leto was cast as the villain Niander Wallace in the 2017 film "Blade Runner 2049", the sequel to "Blade Runner". Leto later also appeared in "", a promotional short film that takes place before "Blade Runner 2049" directed by Luke Scott and co-starring Benedict Wong.


title: Jared Leto

text: From May to September 2017, Thirty Seconds to Mars embarked on a North American tour with Muse and PVRIS. Thirty Seconds to Mars then performed at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards featuring special guest Travis Scott. During the ceremony, Jared Leto received media attention for his tribute to musicians Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell, who both died earlier that year. In February 2018, the band officially announced the Monolith Tour with Walk the Moon, Misterwives, K. Flay, Joywave, and Welshly Arms. Thirty Seconds to Mars later confirmed "America" as title of their fifth album, which was released on April 6, 2018. The album received polarizing reviews from critics and debuted at number two on the "Billboard 200", becoming the band's highest entry on the chart. It was promoted with an accompanying documentary film, "A Day in the Life of America", directed by Leto and released in January 2021 to general praise.


title: Jared Leto

text: Leto played suspected serial killer Albert Sparma in John Lee Hancock's 2021 film "The Little Things". The film earned him nominations for a Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award—both for Best Supporting Actor. Leto portrays fashion designer and business magnate Paolo Gucci in Ridley Scott's biographical crime drama film "House of Gucci", for which he was nominated for a Satellite Award, Critics' Choice Movie Award and Screen Actors Guild Award.


title: Jared Leto

text: He plays Adam Neumann alongside Anne Hathaway in Apple+'s 2022 "WeCrashed" about the rise and fall of the WeWork. In November 2017, Sony Pictures announced plans for a film adaptation of Morbius, the Living Vampire, which will be part of Sony's Spider-Man Universe. On June 27, 2018, it was announced that Leto will star, and Daniel Espinosa will direct. The film was released on 1 April, 2022.


title: Jared Leto

text: In September 2016, it was announced that Leto would play Andy Warhol in a biopic written by Terence Winter and produced by Michael De Luca. Leto later confirmed his portrayal as Warhol on his Instagram in August 2020.


title: Jared Leto

text: In February 2017, it was announced that Leto would direct the thriller "77" for Paramount Pictures. In August 2020, it was announced that Leto would star as the character Ares in the yet-untitled "Tron 3" film, the sequel to 2010's "", which he later confirmed on his Instagram.


title: Jared Leto

text: On January 28, 2021, it was announced that Leto would star in a film directed by Darren Aronofsky titled "Adrift", in their first project together since "Requiem for a Dream". On July 30, 2022, it was announced that Leto would star in a film directed by Justin Simien titled "Haunted Mansion" for Disney. The film is scheduled for release on August 11, 2023.


title: Jared Leto

text: On October 6, 2022, it was announced that Leto would play the late Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld in a biopic. Leto will also produce the film.


title: Jared Leto

text: After the strong relationship between Thirty Seconds to Mars and its audience, Leto launched the social media management and digital marketing company The Hive. It is based in Studio City, Los Angeles and focuses on creative community building. In recent years, it has expanded to other artists such as Jessie J and Semi Precious Weapons. In 2010, Leto launched The One and Only Golden Tickets, a full service company which operates worldwide and manages exclusive services for concerts, festivals, and events. In 2013, the company was renamed Adventures In Wonderland.


title: Jared Leto

text: In 2011, Leto launched the online platform VyRT. Created as a live video streaming service, it also features social networking and official merchandise. Its idea came from some frustrating experiences Leto faced with Thirty Seconds to Mars in streaming their own live events. In June 2012, VyRT was awarded Best Online Concert Experience at the O Music Awards. In 2012, Leto became an investor in Surf Air, a California-based air service. He is also a funder for Reddit and Robinhood Markets.


title: Jared Leto

text: Leto lives a vegan lifestyle and supports animal rights. In 2008, he supported the California Proposition 2 regarding treatment of farm animals. In the 2008 presidential election, Leto supported Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. In 2012, he chaired a Gen44 event, a campaign set up by Obama to energize voters under 40. Leto is a gay rights activist. In October 2009, he raised money for the campaign against California Proposition 8, created by opponents of same-sex marriage to overturn the California Supreme Court decision that had legalized same-sex marriage. He spoke out in support of LGBT rights group Freedom Action Inclusion Rights (FAIR). In May 2012, he expressed support after hearing that Barack Obama had endorsed same-sex marriage.


title: Jared Leto

text: Leto has been active in several charitable pursuits. He has been volunteering at the charity Art of Elysium, which helps children with serious medical conditions. He has supported the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, a program specializing in type 1 diabetes research and care. In 2006, he created the cover art for the album "97X Green Room: Volume 2", which proceeds from the sales benefited The Nature Conservancy. In June 2008, he joined Habitat for Humanity to work with Thirty Seconds to Mars on a home being repaired and renovated through the Greater Los Angeles Area's "A Brush With Kindness" programme. He also supported Habitat for Humanity in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


title: Jared Leto

text: Leto has supported Aid Still Required, a non-profit corporation committed to bringing attention and humanitarian aid to areas suffering from natural disasters or human crises. After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, he released a book of photographs taken during his trip to the Caribbean country in 2011, in a bid to raise funds for the earthquake-ravaged country. He has connected with and helped various organizations since arriving there, including J/P Haitian Relief Organization. Leto spent a year in Haiti during his childhood, and returned there in January 2011 to "reconnect" with his former home following the tremor of January 2010. On September 30, 2014, Leto hosted the event "Haiti: The Journey Is the Destination" in New York City, benefitting those affected by the 2010 earthquake in the Caribbean country. In February 2015, Leto was named a global ambassador for World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), supporting online fundraisers and leading one for his 47th birthday in 2018.


title: Cillian Murphy

text: Cillian Murphy (; born 25 May 1976) is an Irish actor. Originally the lead singer, guitarist, and lyricist of the rock band The Sons of Mr. Green Genes, he turned down a record deal in the late 1990s and began acting on stage and in short and independent films. His first notable film credits include Jim in the zombie horror "28 Days Later" (2002), the dark comedy "Intermission" (2003), and the action thriller "Red Eye" (2005). He played a transgender Irish woman in the comedy-drama "Breakfast on Pluto" (2005), which earned him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy.


title: Cillian Murphy

text: Murphy is also known for his collaborations with director Christopher Nolan, playing the Scarecrow in "The Dark Knight Trilogy" of superhero films (2005–2012) and appearing in the sci-fi action thriller "Inception" (2010), the war drama "Dunkirk" (2017), and starring in the upcoming biopic "Oppenheimer" (2023) as the titular physicist. Other films in which he has appeared include the war drama "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" (2006), the sci-fi thriller "Sunshine" (2007), the sci-fi action thriller "In Time" (2011), Jozef Gabčík in the war drama "Anthropoid" (2016), and the horror "A Quiet Place Part II" (2021). From 2013 to 2022, he starred as Tommy Shelby in the BBC crime drama series "Peaky Blinders", for which he won the Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actor in 2017 and 2018.


title: Cillian Murphy

text: In 2011, Murphy won the Irish Times Theatre Award for Best Actor and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance for the one-man play "Misterman". In 2020, "The Irish Times" named him one of the greatest Irish film actors. Murphy is married to Irish visual artist Yvonne McGuinness and has two sons with her.


title: Cillian Murphy

text: Murphy was born on 25 May 1976 in Douglas, Cork. His mother taught French while his father, Brendan, worked for the Department of Education and Skills. His grandfather, aunts, and uncles were also teachers. He was raised in Ballintemple, Cork, alongside his younger brother Páidi and two younger sisters Sile and Orla. He started writing and performing songs at the age of 10. He was raised Catholic and attended the fee-paying Catholic secondary school Presentation Brothers College, where he did well academically but often got into trouble, sometimes being suspended; he decided in his fourth year that misbehaving was not worth the hassle. Not keen on sports, which was a major part of the school's curriculum, he found that artistic pursuits were neglected at the school.


title: Cillian Murphy

text: Murphy got his first taste of performing in secondary school, when he participated in a drama module presented by Corcadorca Theatre Company director Pat Kiernan. He later described the experience as a "huge high" and a "fully alive" feeling that he then set out to chase. Novelist William Wall, who was his English teacher, encouraged him to pursue acting but he was set on becoming a rock star. In his late teens and early 20s, he sang and played the guitar in several bands alongside his brother, Páidi, and the Beatles-obsessed duo named their most successful band The Sons of Mr. Green Genes, which they adopted from the Frank Zappa song of the same name. He later said the band "specialised in wacky lyrics and endless guitar solos". They were offered a five-album deal by Acid Jazz Records, which they rejected because Páidi was still in school and the duo did not agree with the small amount of money they would get for giving the record label the rights to Murphy's compositions. Murphy later confessed, "I'm very glad in retrospect that we didn't sign because you kind of sign away your life to a label and the whole of your music."


title: Cillian Murphy

text: Murphy began studying law at University College Cork (UCC) in 1996, but failed his first-year exams because he "had no ambitions to do it". Not only was he busy with his band, but he knew within days after starting at UCC that law was not what he wanted to do. After seeing Corcadorca's stage production of "", directed by Kiernan, acting began to garner his interest. His first major role was in the UCC Drama Society's amateur production of "Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme", which starred Irish-American comedian Des Bishop. Murphy also played the lead in their production of "Little Shop of Horrors", which was performed in the Cork Opera House. He later admitted that his primary motivation at the time was not to pursue an acting career, but to go to parties and meet women.


title: Cillian Murphy

text: Murphy pressured Pat Kiernan until he got an audition at Corcadorca Theatre Company, and in September 1996, he made his professional acting debut on the stage, playing the part of a volatile Cork teenager in Enda Walsh's "Disco Pigs". Walsh recalled meeting and discovering Murphy: "There was something about him – he was incredibly enigmatic and he would walk into a room with real presence and you'd go, "My God". It had nothing to do with those bloody eyes that everyone's going on about all the time." Murphy observed, "I was unbelievably cocky and had nothing to lose, and it suited the part, I suppose." Originally intended to run for three weeks in Cork, "Disco Pigs" ended up touring throughout Europe, Canada and Australia for two years, and Murphy left both university and his band. Though he had intended to go back to playing music, he secured representation after his first agent caught a performance of "Disco Pigs", and his acting career began to take off.


title: Cillian Murphy

text: He starred in many other theatre productions, including Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" (1998), "The Country Boy," and "Juno and the Paycock" (both 1999). He began appearing in independent films such as "On the Edge" (2001), and in short films, including "Filleann an Feall" (2000) and "Watchmen" (2001). He also reprised his role for the film adaption of "Disco Pigs" (2001) and appeared in the BBC television mini-series adaptation of "The Way We Live Now". During this period, he moved from Cork, relocating first to Dublin for a few years, then to London in 2001.


title: Cillian Murphy

text: In 2002, Murphy starred as Adam in a theatre production of Neil LaBute's "The Shape of Things" at the Gate Theatre in Dublin. Writing for "The Irish Times", Fintan O'Toole praised Murphy's performance: "Murphy measures out his metamorphosis with an impressive subtlety and intelligence."


title: Cillian Murphy

text: He was cast in the lead role in Danny Boyle's horror film "28 Days Later" (2002). He portrayed pandemic survivor Jim, who is "perplexed to find himself alone in the desolate, post-apocalyptic world" after waking from a coma in a London hospital. Casting director Gail Stevens suggested that Boyle audition Murphy for the role, having been impressed with his performance in "Disco Pigs". Stevens stated that it was only after seeing his slender physique during filming that they decided to feature him fully nude at the beginning of the film. She recalled that Murphy was shy on set with the tendency to look slightly away from the camera, but enthused that he had a "dreamy, slightly de-energised, floating quality that is fantastic for the film." Released in the UK in late 2002, by the following July "28 Days Later" had become a sleeper hit in North America and a success worldwide, putting Murphy in front of a mass audience for the first time. His performance earned him a nomination for Best Newcomer at the 8th Empire Awards and Breakthrough Male Performance at the 2004 MTV Movie Awards. Murphy professed that he considered the film to be much deeper than a zombie or horror film, expressing surprise at the film's success and that American audiences responded well to its content and violence. Murphy said, "the film did so well. And you watch zombie stuff [now], we were the first people to make zombies run, and [that] changed everything. It has a very special place in my heart, that movie."


title: Cillian Murphy

text: In 2003, he played the role of Konstantine in a stage production of Chekhov's "The Seagull" at the Edinburgh International Festival. Murphy said he wanted to play Kontastine because the character "goes on this amazing journey through the play [...] he comes to realise there's no point being an iconoclastic writer just for the sake of it, and that the search for new forms has to have something behind it."


title: Cillian Murphy

text: He starred as a lovelorn, hapless supermarket stocker who plots a bank heist with Colin Farrell in "Intermission" (2003), which became the highest-grossing Irish independent film in Irish box office history (until "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" broke the record in 2006). Reflecting on his roles in "28 Days Later" and the "sad-sack Dublin shelf-stacker" in "Intermission", Sarah Lyall of the "International Herald Tribune" stated that Murphy brought "fluent ease to the roles he takes on, a graceful and wholly believable intensity. His delicate good looks have, as much as his acting prowess, caused people to mark him as Ireland's next Colin Farrell, albeit one who seems less likely to be caught tomcatting around or brawling drunkenly at premieres". He had a minor supporting role in the successful Hollywood period drama "Cold Mountain" (2003). He portrayed a deserting soldier who shares a grim scene with Jude Law's character, and was only on location in Romania for a week. Murphy stated that it was a "massive production", remarking that director Anthony Minghella was the calmest director he'd ever met. Murphy also had a role as a butcher in "Girl with a Pearl Earring" (2003) with Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth.


title: Cillian Murphy

text: In 2004, he toured Ireland with the Druid Theatre Company, in "The Playboy of the Western World" (playing the character of Christy Mahon) under the direction of Garry Hynes—who had previously directed Murphy back in 1999 in the theatre productions of "Juno and the Paycock"—and also in "The Country Boy".


title: Cillian Murphy

text: Murphy appeared as Dr. Jonathan Crane in Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" (2005). Originally asked to audition for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, Murphy never saw himself as having the right physique for the superhero, but leapt at the chance to connect with director Nolan. Though the lead went to Christian Bale, Nolan was so impressed with Murphy that he gave him the supporting role of Dr. Crane, whose alter ego is supervillain Scarecrow. Nolan told "Spin" magazine, "He has the most extraordinary eyes, and I kept trying to invent excuses for him to take his glasses off in close-ups." He starred as Jackson Rippner, who terrorises Rachel McAdams on an overnight flight in Wes Craven's thriller, "Red Eye" (2005). "The New York Times" film critic Manohla Dargis asserted that Murphy made "a picture-perfect villain" and that his "baby blues look cold enough to freeze water and his wolfish leer suggests its own terrors." The film was favourably reviewed and earned almost $100 million worldwide.


title: Cillian Murphy

text: Murphy received several awards nominations for his 2005 villainous roles, among them a nomination as Best Villain at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards for "Batman Begins". "Entertainment Weekly" ranked him among its 2005 "Summer MVPs", a cover story list of 10 entertainers with outstanding breakthrough performances. "The New Yorker"'s David Denby wrote: "Cillian Murphy, who has angelic looks that can turn sinister, is one of the most elegantly seductive monsters in recent movies."


title: Cillian Murphy

text: Murphy starred as Patrick/"Kitten" Braden, a transgender Irish woman in search of her mother, in Neil Jordan's comedy-drama "Breakfast on Pluto" (2005), based on the novel of the same title by Patrick McCabe. Seen against the film's kaleidoscopic backdrop of 1970s glitter rock fashion, magic shows, red-light districts and IRA violence, Murphy transforms from androgynous teen to high drag blond bombshell. He had auditioned for the role in 2001 and, though Jordan liked him for the part, the director of "The Crying Game" was hesitant to revisit transgender and IRA issues. The actor lobbied Jordan for several years in a bid to get the film made before Murphy became too old to play the part; in 2004, he prepared for the role by meeting a transvestite who dressed him and took him clubbing with other transvestites. The role required "serious primping" with eyebrow plucking and chest and leg hair removal, and Roger Ebert noted the way that Murphy played the character with a "bemused and hopeful voice". While lukewarm reviews of "Breakfast on Pluto" tended to praise Murphy's performance highly, a few critics dissented: "The Village Voice", which panned the film, found him "unconvincing" and overly cute. Murphy was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for "Breakfast on Pluto" and won the fourth Irish Film and Television Academy Best Actor Award. "Premiere" magazine cited his performance as Kitten in their "The 24 Finest Performances of 2005" feature.


title: Cillian Murphy

text: In 2006, Murphy starred in "The Wind That Shakes the Barley", a film about the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War, which won the Palme d'Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and became the most successful Irish independent film at the Irish box office. Murphy was especially keen on appearing in the film due to his intimate connections to Cork, Ireland, where the film was shot. Murphy auditioned six times for the role of Damien O'Donovan, a young doctor turned revolutionary, before winning the part. Murphy considered it a very special privilege to have been given the role and stated that he was "tremendously proud" of the film, remarking that the "memories run very, very deep – the politics, the divisions and everybody has stories of family members who were caught up in the struggle." David Denby noted Murphy's moments of deep stillness and idiosyncrasies in portraying the character. Kenneth Turan of the "Los Angeles Times" wrote that "Murphy is especially good at playing the zealotry as well as the soul-searching and the regret, at showing us a man who is eaten up alive because he's forced to act in ways that are contrary to his background and his training." "GQ" magazine presented Murphy with its 2006 Actor of the Year award for his work in "The Wind That Shakes the Barley".


title: Cillian Murphy

text: Murphy returned to the stage starring opposite Neve Campbell at the New Ambassadors Theatre in London's West End from November 2006 to February 2007, playing the lead role of John Kolvenbach's play "Love Song". "Theatre Record" described his character of Beane as a "winsomely cranky" mentally unstable "sentimentalised lonely hero", noting how he magnetically, with "all blue eyes and twitching hands", moves "comically from painfully shy "wallpaper" to garrulous, amorous male." "Variety" magazine considered his performance to be "as magnetic onstage as onscreen", remarking that his "unhurried puzzlement pulls the slight preciousness in the character's idiot-savant naivete back from the brink".


title: Cillian Murphy

text: He starred in the science fiction film "Sunshine" (2007) as a physicist-astronaut charged with re-igniting the sun, also directed by Danny Boyle. He starred opposite Lucy Liu in Paul Soter's romantic comedy "Watching the Detectives" (2007); the indie film premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival and was released direct-to-DVD. Murphy starred as Richard Neville, editor of the psychedelic radical underground magazine "Oz" in the film "Hippie Hippie Shake", which was filmed in 2007, but the project, much delayed, was eventually shelved in 2011.


title: Cillian Murphy

text: Murphy made a brief re-appearance as the Scarecrow in Nolan's "The Dark Knight" (2008), the sequel to "Batman Begins", before starring in "The Edge of Love"—about a love quadrangle involving the poet Dylan Thomas—with Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller and Matthew Rhys. In July 2008, Murphy made a debut appearance in another medium—on a postage stamp; the Irish Post Office, An Post, released a series of four stamps paying homage to the creativity of films recently produced in Ireland, including one featuring Murphy in a still from "The Wind That Shakes the Barley". In 2009, Murphy starred opposite rock singer Feist and actor David Fox in "The Water", directed by Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene. The 15-minute Canadian short film, released online in April 2009, is nearly silent until the Feist song of the same title plays close to the end. Murphy was attracted to the role as a fan of Broken Social Scene and the prospect of making a silent movie, which he considered to be the "hardest test for any actor". Murphy also starred in "Perrier's Bounty", a crime dramedy from the makers of "Intermission", in which he portrayed a petty criminal on the run from a gangster played by Brendan Gleeson.


title: Cillian Murphy

text: In 2010, he made a return to theatre in "From Galway to Broadway and back again", which was a stage show that celebrated the Druid Theatre Company's 35th birthday. The direct-to-video psychological thriller "Peacock" (2010), co-starring Elliot Page, Susan Sarandon and Bill Pullman, starred Murphy as a man with a split personality who fools people into believing he is also his own wife. Christian Toto of "The Washington Times" referred to the film as "a handsomely mounted psychological drama with an arresting lead turn by Cillian Murphy", and noted that although Murphy wasn't a stranger to playing in drag, his work in the film set a "new standard for gender-bending performances". Murphy next starred in Christopher Nolan's "Inception" (2010), playing entrepreneur Robert Fischer, whose mind is infiltrated by DiCaprio's character Cobb to convince him to dissolve his business. That year, Murphy also made an uncredited cameo as programmer Edward Dillinger Jr., son of original "Tron" antagonist Ed Dillinger (David Warner) in "".


title: Cillian Murphy

text: In 2011, Murphy performed in the stage monodrama "Misterman", written and directed by Enda Walsh, with whom he had previously worked on "Disco Pigs". The production was initially staged in Galway and was taken to St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York. Murphy said of the role, "The live nature of it makes it so dangerous. You're only there because of the good will of the audience, and that's compounded by its being a one-man show." His performance earned critical acclaim, garnering Irish Times Theatre Award and a Drama Desk Award. Sarah Lyall of the "International Herald Tribune" described Murphy's character Thomas Magill to be a "complicated mixture of sympathetic and not nice at all – deeply wounded, but with a dangerous, skewed moral code", praising his ability to mimic wickedly. Lyall noted Murphy's "unusual ability to create and inhabit creepy yet fascinating characters from the big screen to the small stage in the intense one-man show "Misterman"", and documented that on one evening the "theater was flooded, not with applause but with silence", eventually culminating in a standing ovation at his powerful performance. He played the lead in the British horror film "Retreat" (2011), which had a limited release. He also appeared in the science fiction film "In Time" (2011), starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried, which was poorly reviewed.


title: Cillian Murphy

text: Murphy starred in "Red Lights" (2012) with Robert De Niro and Sigourney Weaver. He played Tom Buckley, the assistant to Weaver's character who is a paranormal investigator. Murphy considered working with De Niro to have been one of the most intimidating moments in his career. He remarked: "My first scene when I come to visit him my character is supposed to be terrified and intimidated. There was no acting involved. The man has presence. You can't act presence. I'll never have that. Watching him use it... when you put a camera on it, it just becomes something else." The film was panned by critics and under-performed at the box office. Murphy went on to reprise his role as the Scarecrow for the third time in "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012), and had a supporting role as Mike in the British independent film "Broken" (2012). His performance earned him a British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination.


title: Cillian Murphy

text: Since 2013, Murphy has starred as Thomas Shelby in the BBC television series "Peaky Blinders", a series about a criminal gang in Birmingham during the post-World War I period. Jason Statham was initially picked for the role by director Steven Knight, who met both actors to talk about the role. Knight later said, "Cillian, when you meet him, isn't Tommy, obviously, but I was stupid enough not to understand that." He picked Murphy after receiving a text message from Murphy that read, "Remember, I'm an actor." Murphy told "The Independent", "[The scripts] were so compelling and confident, and the character was so rich and complex, layered and contradictory. I was like, 'I have to do this.'" "Peaky Blinders" was praised and received high ratings. A second series began broadcasting on the BBC in October 2014. On August 25, the first episode of season 5 was broadcast on BBC One. In an interview with Digital Spy, director Anthony Byrne said, "if we did start shooting in January (2021), we wouldn't finish until May or June and then it's another 6 months of editing." This would place the release date for the final season of "Peaky Blinders" at either the end of 2021 or the beginning of 2022. In 2013, Murphy made his directorial debut with a music video for the band Money's single "Hold Me Forever". The video features dancers from the English National Ballet and was filmed at The Old Vic Theatre in London.


title: Cillian Murphy

text: In 2014, Murphy starred in the drama "Aloft", and Wally Pfister's "Transcendence". Both of these garnered mostly unfavourable critic reviews according to the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. That same year, Murphy reunited with Enda Walsh in the play "Ballyturk". He starred in Ron Howard's 2015 film "In the Heart of the Sea". In 2015, he contributed spoken vocals to the tracks "8:58" and "The Clock" from Paul Hartnoll's album "". The two previously met while Hartnoll was scoring the second season of "Peaky Blinders". In 2016, Murphy starred in Ben Wheatley's "Free Fire", and portrayed Czechoslovak World War II army soldier Jozef Gabčík, who was involved in Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in "Anthropoid". Rupert Hawksley of "The Telegraph" believed Cillian's performance in "Anthropoid", but opined that he is "not asked to do an awful lot, other than smoke and look perplexed".


title: Cillian Murphy

text: Murphy played a shell-shocked army officer who is recovered from a wrecked ship in Christopher Nolan's war film "Dunkirk" (2017). He felt that his character, who is nameless and was credited simply as Shivering Soldier, was "representative of something experienced by thousands of soldiers, which is the profound emotional and psychological toll that war can have". "A Quiet Place Part II", released May 28, 2021, stars Murphy as Emmett, a hardened survivor and old family friend of the Abbotts. Murphy's character reluctantly takes in the Abbotts following the events of the first film.


title: Cillian Murphy

text: Murphy was confirmed to star as J. Robert Oppenheimer in Nolan's upcoming film "Oppenheimer", releasing on July 21, 2023.


title: Cillian Murphy

text: Murphy does not have a personal stylist or publicist, travels without an entourage, and often attends film premieres alone. Reserved and private, he professes a lack of interest in the celebrity scene, finding the red carpet experience "a challenge" that he does not "want to overcome". He intentionally practises a lifestyle that will not interest the tabloids, stating, "I haven't created any controversy, I don't sleep around, I don't go and fall down drunk." He prefers not to speak about his life outside of acting and did not appear on any television talk shows until 2010, when he was a guest on Ireland's "Late Late Show" to promote "Perrier's Bounty", though he still remained reserved.


title: Cillian Murphy

text: Murphy participated in the 2007 Rock the Vote Ireland campaign, targeting young voters for the general election, and campaigning for the rights of the homeless with the organisation Focus Ireland. In 2011, he became a patron of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre at the National University of Ireland Galway. He is closely associated with the work of Professor Pat Dolan Director UCFRC and UNESCO Chair in Children, Youth and Civic Engagement. In February 2012, he wrote a message of support to the former Vita Cortex workers involved in a sit-in at their plant, congratulating them for "highlighting [what] is hugely important to us all as a nation".


title: Cillian Murphy

text: In mid-2004, Murphy married his long-time girlfriend Yvonne McGuinness, whom he had met at one of his rock band's shows in 1996. They lived in London from 2001 to 2015, when they moved to Dublin. They have two sons, born in December 2005 and July 2007 respectively.


title: Cillian Murphy

text: Music is still an important part of Murphy's life. In 2004, he said, "The only extravagant thing about my lifestyle is my stereo system, buying music and going to gigs." He no longer plays in a rock band, but regularly plays music with friends and on his own, and still writes songs. Murphy does not plan to start another band, and said, "Even if I was good, the very notion of being an actor with a rock band on the side would mean I'd never be taken seriously." Murphy has presented numerous programs on British digital radio station BBC Radio 6 Music since 2013, including the "Cillian Murphy's Limited Edition" series where he shares and discusses his favourite music. In 2005, he named fellow Irish actors Colin Farrell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Liam Neeson as friends, calling Neeson his "surrogate movie dad". However, his closest friendships are those he made before becoming well-known.


title: Cillian Murphy

text: Murphy was raised Roman Catholic and had been verging on agnosticism until researching his role as a physicist and astronaut in the 2007 film "Sunshine", which confirmed his atheism. In 2019, he stated that the Catholic faith still shaped his morality. He was a vegetarian for around 15 years, which he said happened because he was "worried about getting mad cow disease" rather than a moral decision. He also had qualms about unhealthy agribusiness practices. He began eating meat again to bulk up for his role in "Peaky Blinders". He enjoys running.


title: Severance (TV series)

text: Severance is an American science fiction psychological thriller television series created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle. It stars Adam Scott, Zach Cherry, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Jen Tullock, Dichen Lachman, Michael Chernus, John Turturro, Christopher Walken, and Patricia Arquette. The plot follows Mark (Scott), an employee of Lumon Industries who agrees to a "severance" program in which his non-work memories are separated from his work memories.


title: Severance (TV series)

text: The series premiered on Apple TV+ on February 18, 2022. It received acclaim from critics and audiences, who praised its cinematography, production design, musical score, story, and performances (especially Scott). The series received 14 nominations at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards including Outstanding Drama Series and acting nods for Scott, Turturro, Walken, and Arquette (winning for Main Title Design and score). In April 2022, the series was renewed for a second season.


title: Severance (TV series)

text: A biotechnology corporation, Lumon Industries, uses a "severance" mindwipe medical procedure to separate the work memories of their former employees. One severed employee, Mark, gradually uncovers a web of conspiracy.


title: Severance (TV series)

text: While studying English at Western Washington University, Erickson became interested in the theater department, writing short plays and other creative works. Soon after, Erickson attended New York University, where he got a masters degree in television writing. In 2016, his screenplay for the pilot of "Severance" appeared on Blood List's survey results of the best unproduced genre screenplays. Erickson had worked in an office job before writing the show, stating in an interview, "The initial ideas came to me while I was working a really bad office job and going through a somewhat depressive state." Erickson is close with his siblings, stating they were inspirations for some of the characters on the show.


title: Severance (TV series)

text: Ben Stiller first read the screenplay to the pilot episode at least five years before the show premiered, calling it "the longest thing I've ever worked on." The script was submitted by Dan Erickson as a writing sample to Stiller's production company Red Hour Productions, and passed to Stiller by development executive Jackie Cohn. Stiller said he enjoyed the story's contributions to the workplace comedy. In January 2017, Stiller invited Adam Scott to star. In November 2019, Apple TV+ gave "Severance" a series order, with Stiller directing and Scott cast in the leading role. Stiller was only attached to direct the pilot but he decided to direct several more episodes as the series entered development.


title: Severance (TV series)

text: The COVID-19 pandemic postponed the initial production start of March 2020. Principal photography for the first season started in New York City under the working title "Tumwater" on November 8, 2020, the day after the U.S. presidential election. The opening scene of the show was shot on January 6, 2021. The series filmed for a few days in Nyack in February and in Kingston and Beacon in March. In April, filming moved to central New Jersey, mainly in the Bell Labs Holmdel Complex which stood in for Lumon HQ. Filming was scheduled to conclude on June 23, 2021. Production designer Jeremy Hindle blended corporate looks from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s for the show's distinctive look, and cited modernist architect Eero Saarinen as influential for the building design. Stiller said the prop master reconstructed old computers so the actors could actually do the work presented on the show in order to get adjusted to the office setting. These computers lacked an escape key, as a metaphor for the lack of control the Innies have while in Lumon's offices.


title: Severance (TV series)

text: The second season began filming on October 3, 2022, in New York City, and is set to wrap on May 12, 2023. The second season will also shoot in New Jersey.


title: Severance (TV series)

text: In January 2020, Patricia Arquette, Britt Lower, Jen Tullock, and Zach Cherry were added to the cast. Tramell Tillman joined in February 2020, and John Turturro and Christopher Walken were added in November 2020. Dichen Lachman was cast in December 2020. Turturro said he recommended Walken for the role of Burt because he had known him for "a long time and I don't have to really act like we're friends."


title: Severance (TV series)

text: On October 31, 2022, Gwendoline Christie, Bob Balaban, Merritt Wever, Alia Shawkat, Robby Benson, Stefano Carannante, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson and John Noble were announced to have joined the cast for season two.


title: Severance (TV series)

text: Modern media that influenced "Severance" include the online urban legend known as The Backrooms, the video game "The Stanley Parable", films including "Office Space", "Brazil", "The Truman Show", and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", and the "Dilbert" comic strips. Older influences include the existential hell in the Jean-Paul Sartre play "No Exit" and the totalitarian dystopia in the George Orwell novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four". Aesthetically, the series was influenced by the films "Brazil", "Dark City", "Playtime", and other films by Terry Gilliam.


title: Severance (TV series)

text: "Severance" was met with critical acclaim upon its release. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 83 out of 100 based on 36 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".


title: Severance (TV series)

text: The series received a rating of 5 out of 5 stars from Lucy Mangan of "The Guardian" and Rachael Sigee of "I", 4 out of 5 stars from Huw Fullerton of "Radio Times", John Nugent of "Empire", Alan Sepinwall of "Rolling Stone" and Anita Singh of "The Telegraph", and 3.5 out of 4 stars from Patrick Ryan of "USA Today". In her review, Mangan praised Stiller's direction, the writing, and the performances of the cast (particularly that of Arquette, Turturro, Walken and Tillman). Sigee also praised the performances, especially Scott's, Arquette's, Turturro's and Walken's, and wrote, ""Severance" moves slowly but surely, allowing time to absorb both the impressive world-building and stunning visuals, [...] [and] its breathtaking cinematography and design. With an exceptional cast [...], this is an original, weird, thought-provoking and beautifully crafted story that asks just how much of ourselves we should give over to our jobs." Fullerton also praised Scott's performance and called the series "an impressive creation." Nugent praised the direction, performances of Scott, Arquette, Turturro and Walken, and chemistry between the latter two. Sepinwall also praised Stiller's direction and the cast's performances (most notably that of Scott, Turturro, Walken, Lower and Tillman), in addition to the production design, tone, and season finale.


title: Severance (TV series)

text: Grading the series with an "A", Carly Lane of "Collider" stated that "the most engrossing element of "Severance" is the many mysteries it presents, wrapped up in silent overarching questions of philosophy, morality, and free will versus choice, and as the series demonstrates, some of those questions aren't so easily solved, but some issues aren't as black-and-white as initially presented either." Also grading it with an "A", Ben Travers of "IndieWire" said, "Whether you invest in the allegory, character arcs, or both, 'Severance' hits its marks. [...] Erickson and his writing staff deserve a ton of credit. The season plays out cleanly and efficiently; episodes range from nearly 60 minutes to a crisp 40; cliffhangers abound, but they’re earned. [...] This is serialized storytelling that knows how to make the most of its episodic format." Stephen Robinson of "The A.V. Club" gave it an "A-" grade and praised Stiller's direction and the cast, with the performances of Lower, Scott, Tillman, Turturro, Walken, Tullock and Cherry being singled out. From "Entertainment Weekly," Kristen Baldwin graded it with a "B+" and highlighted the performances of Scott, Lower and Tillman, saying that "Scott is a superb fit for "Severance"'s central everyman, [...] Lower brings an effective vulnerability to the acerbic Helly, and Tramell Tillman is an absolute force of charisma as Milchick."


title: Severance (TV series)

text: Giving the series an "amazing" score of 9 out of 10, Samantha Nelson of "IGN" wrote in her verdict, ""Severance" [...] uses a clever premise and excellent cast to set up an intriguing mystery that leaves plenty of room for the characters to evolve." Writing for "Paste", Shane Ryan gave it an 8.1 out of 10 and praised the performances of Scott, Arquette and Tillman as well as Stiller and McArdle's direction. Kyle Mullin of "Under the Radar" gave it an 8 out of 10 and said, ""Severance"'s writer/creator Dan Erickson is another newcomer who pens scenes with veteran-level aplomb. Every scene is a Golden Age of TV gem in its own right. But Severance's dramatic heart resides at the workplace, where it also becomes a white-knuckle thriller. This is where director Ben Stiller especially shines, training his lens and setting the scenes [...]. He certainly brings the best out of his cast."


title: Severance (TV series)

text: The second season was teased during the Apple Event that took place on September 7, 2022, which featured Helly (Britt Lower).


title: HTTP cookie

text: HTTP cookies (also called web cookies, Internet cookies, browser cookies, or simply cookies) are small blocks of data created by a web server while a user is browsing a website and placed on the user's computer or other device by the user's web browser. Cookies are placed on the device used to access a website, and more than one cookie may be placed on a user's device during a session.


title: HTTP cookie

text: Cookies serve useful and sometimes essential functions on the web. They enable web servers to store stateful information (such as items added in the shopping cart in an online store) on the user's device or to track the user's browsing activity (including clicking particular buttons, logging in, or recording which pages were visited in the past). They can also be used to save for subsequent use information that the user previously entered into form fields, such as names, addresses, passwords, and payment card numbers.


title: HTTP cookie

text: Authentication cookies are commonly used by web servers to authenticate that a user is logged in, and with which account they are logged in. Without the cookie, users would need to authenticate themselves by logging in on each page containing sensitive information that they wish to access. The security of an authentication cookie generally depends on the security of the issuing website and the user's web browser, and on whether the cookie data is encrypted. Security vulnerabilities may allow a cookie's data to be read by an attacker, used to gain access to user data, or used to gain access (with the user's credentials) to the website to which the cookie belongs (see cross-site scripting and cross-site request forgery for examples).


title: HTTP cookie

text: Tracking cookies, and especially third-party tracking cookies, are commonly used as ways to compile long-term records of individuals' browsing histories a potential privacy concern that prompted European and U.S. lawmakers to take action in 2011. European law requires that all websites targeting European Union member states gain "informed consent" from users before storing non-essential cookies on their device.


title: HTTP cookie

text: The term "cookie" was coined by web-browser programmer Lou Montulli. It was derived from the term "magic cookie", which is a packet of data a program receives and sends back unchanged, used by Unix programmers. The term magic cookie itself derives from the fortune cookie, which is a cookie with an embedded message.


title: HTTP cookie

text: Magic cookies were already used in computing when computer programmer Lou Montulli had the idea of using them in web communications in June 1994. At the time, he was an employee of Netscape Communications, which was developing an e-commerce application for MCI. Vint Cerf and John Klensin represented MCI in technical discussions with Netscape Communications. MCI did not want its servers to have to retain partial transaction states, which led them to ask Netscape to find a way to store that state in each user's computer instead. Cookies provided a solution to the problem of reliably implementing a virtual shopping cart.


title: HTTP cookie

text: Together with John Giannandrea, Montulli wrote the initial Netscape cookie specification the same year. Version 0.9beta of Mosaic Netscape, released on October 13, 1994, supported cookies. The first use of cookies (out of the labs) was checking whether visitors to the Netscape website had already visited the site. Montulli applied for a patent for the cookie technology in 1995, which was granted in 1998. Support for cookies was integrated with Internet Explorer in version 2, released in October 1995.


title: HTTP cookie

text: The introduction of cookies was not widely known to the public at the time. In particular, cookies were accepted by default, and users were not notified of their presence. The public learned about cookies after the "Financial Times" published an article about them on February 12, 1996. In the same year, cookies received a lot of media attention, especially because of potential privacy implications. Cookies were discussed in two U.S. Federal Trade Commission hearings in 1996 and 1997.


title: HTTP cookie

text: The development of the formal cookie specifications was already ongoing. In particular, the first discussions about a formal specification started in April 1995 on the www-talk mailing list. A special working group within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) was formed. Two alternative proposals for introducing state in HTTP transactions had been proposed by Brian Behlendorf and David Kristol respectively. But the group, headed by Kristol himself and Lou Montulli, soon decided to use the Netscape specification as a starting point. In February 1996, the working group identified third-party cookies as a considerable privacy threat. The specification produced by the group was eventually published as RFC 2109 in February 1997. It specifies that third-party cookies were either not allowed at all, or at least not enabled by default. At this time, advertising companies were already using third-party cookies. The recommendation about third-party cookies of RFC 2109 was not followed by Netscape and Internet Explorer. RFC 2109 was superseded by RFC 2965 in October 2000.


title: HTTP cookie

text: RFC 2965 added a codice_1 header field, which informally came to be called "RFC 2965-style cookies" as opposed to the original codice_2 header field which was called "Netscape-style cookies". codice_1 was seldom used, however, and was deprecated in RFC 6265 in April 2011 which was written as a definitive specification for cookies as used in the real world. No modern browser recognizes the codice_1 header field.


title: HTTP cookie

text: A "session cookie" (also known as an "in-memory cookie", "transient cookie" or "non-persistent cookie") exists only in temporary memory while the user navigates a website.


title: HTTP cookie

text: Session cookies expire or are deleted when the user closes the web browser. Session cookies are identified by the browser by the absence of an expiration date assigned to them.


title: HTTP cookie

text: A "persistent cookie" expires at a specific date or after a specific length of time. For the persistent cookie's lifespan set by its creator, its information will be transmitted to the server every time the user visits the website that it belongs to, or every time the user views a resource belonging to that website from another website (such as an advertisement).


title: HTTP cookie

text: For this reason, persistent cookies are sometimes referred to as "tracking cookies" because they can be used by advertisers to record information about a user's web browsing habits over an extended period of time. Persistent cookies are also used for reasons such as keeping users logged into their accounts on websites, to avoid re-entering login credentials at every visit.


title: HTTP cookie

text: A "secure cookie" can only be transmitted over an encrypted connection (i.e. HTTPS). They cannot be transmitted over unencrypted connections (i.e. HTTP). This makes the cookie less likely to be exposed to cookie theft via eavesdropping. A cookie is made secure by adding the codice_5 flag to the cookie.


title: HTTP cookie

text: An "http-only cookie" cannot be accessed by client-side APIs, such as JavaScript. This restriction eliminates the threat of cookie theft via cross-site scripting (XSS). However, the cookie remains vulnerable to cross-site tracing (XST) and cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks. A cookie is given this characteristic by adding the codice_6 flag to the cookie.


title: HTTP cookie

text: In 2016 Google Chrome version 51 introduced a new kind of cookie with attribute codice_7. The attribute codice_7 can have a value of codice_9, codice_10 or codice_11. With attribute codice_12, the browsers would only send cookies to a target domain that is the same as the origin domain. This would effectively mitigate cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks. With codice_13, browsers would send cookies with requests to a target domain even it is different from the origin domain, but only for "safe" requests such as GET (POST is unsafe) and not third-party cookies (inside iframe). Attribute codice_14 would allow third-party (cross-site) cookies, however, most browsers require secure attribute on SameSite=None cookies.


title: HTTP cookie

text: The Same-site cookie is incorporated into a new RFC draft for "Cookies: HTTP State Management Mechanism" to update RFC 6265 (if approved).


title: HTTP cookie

text: Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge all started to support Same-site cookies. The key of rollout is the treatment of existing cookies without the SameSite attribute defined, Chrome has been treating those existing cookies as if SameSite=None, this would keep all website/applications run as before. Google intended to change that default to SameSite=Lax in February 2020, the change would break those applications/websites that rely on third-party/cross-site cookies, but without SameSite attribute defined. Given the extensive changes for web developers and COVID-19 circumstances, Google temporarily rolled back the SameSite cookie change.


title: HTTP cookie

text: A "supercookie" is a cookie with an origin of a top-level domain (such as codice_15) or a public suffix (such as codice_16). Ordinary cookies, by contrast, have an origin of a specific domain name, such as codice_17.


title: HTTP cookie

text: Supercookies can be a potential security concern and are therefore often blocked by web browsers. If unblocked by the browser, an attacker in control of a malicious website could set a supercookie and potentially disrupt or impersonate legitimate user requests to another website that shares the same top-level domain or public suffix as the malicious website. For example, a supercookie with an origin of codice_15, could maliciously affect a request made to codice_17, even if the cookie did not originate from codice_17. This can be used to fake logins or change user information.


title: HTTP cookie

text: The Public Suffix List helps to mitigate the risk that supercookies pose. The Public Suffix List is a cross-vendor initiative that aims to provide an accurate and up-to-date list of domain name suffixes. Older versions of browsers may not have an up-to-date list, and will therefore be vulnerable to supercookies from certain domains.


title: HTTP cookie

text: The term "supercookie" is sometimes used for tracking technologies that do not rely on HTTP cookies. Two such "supercookie" mechanisms were found on Microsoft websites in August 2011: cookie syncing that respawned MUID (machine unique identifier) cookies, and ETag cookies. Due to media attention, Microsoft later disabled this code. In a 2021 blog post, Mozilla used the term "supercookie" to refer to the use of browser cache as a means of tracking users across sites.


title: HTTP cookie

text: A "zombie cookie" is data and code that has been placed by a web server on a visitor's computer or other device in a hidden location outside the visitor's web browser's dedicated cookie storage location, and that automatically recreates a HTTP cookie as a regular cookie after the original cookie had been deleted. The zombie cookie may be stored in multiple locations, such as Flash Local shared object, HTML5 Web storage, and other client-side and even server-side locations, and when absence is detected in one of the locations, the missing instance is recreated by the JavaScript code using the data stored in other locations.


title: HTTP cookie

text: A cookie wall pops up on a website and informs the user of the website's cookie usage. It has no reject option, and the website is not accessible without tracking cookies.


title: HTTP cookie

text: Cookies were originally introduced to provide a way for users to record items they want to purchase as they navigate throughout a website (a virtual "shopping cart" or "shopping basket"). Today, however, the contents of a user's shopping cart are usually stored in a database on the server, rather than in a cookie on the client. To keep track of which user is assigned to which shopping cart, the server sends a cookie to the client that contains a unique session identifier (typically, a long string of random letters and numbers). Because cookies are sent to the server with every request the client makes, that session identifier will be sent back to the server every time the user visits a new page on the website, which lets the server know which shopping cart to display to the user.


title: HTTP cookie

text: Another popular use of cookies is for logging into websites. When the user visits a website's login page, the web server typically sends the client a cookie containing a unique session identifier. When the user successfully logs in, the server remembers that that particular session identifier has been authenticated and grants the user access to its services.


title: HTTP cookie

text: Because session cookies only contain a unique session identifier, this makes the amount of personal information that a website can save about each user virtually limitless—the website is not limited to restrictions concerning how large a cookie can be. Session cookies also help to improve page load times, since the amount of information in a session cookie is small and requires little bandwidth.


title: HTTP cookie

text: Cookies can be used to remember information about the user in order to show relevant content to that user over time. For example, a web server might send a cookie containing the username that was last used to log into a website, so that it may be filled in automatically the next time the user logs in.


title: HTTP cookie

text: Many websites use cookies for personalization based on the user's preferences. Users select their preferences by entering them in a web form and submitting the form to the server. The server encodes the preferences in a cookie and sends the cookie back to the browser. This way, every time the user accesses a page on the website, the server can personalize the page according to the user's preferences. For example, the Google search engine once used cookies to allow users (even non-registered ones) to decide how many search results per page they wanted to see.


title: HTTP cookie

text: Also, DuckDuckGo uses cookies to allow users to set the viewing preferences like colors of the web page.


title: HTTP cookie

text: Tracking cookies are used to track users' web browsing habits. This can also be done to some extent by using the IP address of the computer requesting the page or the referer field of the HTTP request header, but cookies allow for greater precision. This can be demonstrated as follows:


title: HTTP cookie

text: By analyzing this log file, it is then possible to find out which pages the user has visited, in what sequence, and for how long.


title: HTTP cookie

text: Corporations exploit users' web habits by tracking cookies to collect information about buying habits. The "Wall Street Journal" found that America's top fifty websites installed an average of sixty-four pieces of tracking technology onto computers, resulting in a total of 3,180 tracking files. The data can then be collected and sold to bidding corporations.


title: HTTP cookie

text: Cookies are arbitrary pieces of data, usually chosen and first sent by the web server, and stored on the client computer by the web browser. The browser then sends them back to the server with every request, introducing states (memory of previous events) into otherwise stateless HTTP transactions. Without cookies, each retrieval of a web page or component of a web page would be an isolated event, largely unrelated to all other page views made by the user on the website. Although cookies are usually set by the web server, they can also be set by the client using a scripting language such as JavaScript (unless the cookie's codice_6 flag is set, in which case the cookie cannot be modified by scripting languages).


title: HTTP cookie

text: The cookie specifications require that browsers meet the following requirements in order to support cookies:


title: HTTP cookie

text: Cookies are set using the codice_2 header field, sent in an HTTP response from the web server. This header field instructs the web browser to store the cookie and send it back in future requests to the server (the browser will ignore this header field if it does not support cookies or has disabled cookies).


title: HTTP cookie

text: The server's HTTP response contains the contents of the website's homepage. But it also instructs the browser to set two cookies. The first, "theme", is considered to be a "session cookie" since it does not have an codice_27 or codice_28 attribute. Session cookies are intended to be deleted by the browser when the browser closes. The second, "sessionToken", is considered to be a "persistent cookie" since it contains an codice_27 attribute, which instructs the browser to delete the cookie at a specific date and time.


title: HTTP cookie

text: Next, the browser sends another request to visit the codice_30 page on the website. This request contains a codice_31 header field, which contains the two cookies that the server instructed the browser to set:


title: HTTP cookie

text: This way, the server knows that this HTTP request is related to the previous one. The server would answer by sending the requested page, possibly including more codice_2 header fields in the HTTP response in order to instruct the browser to add new cookies, modify existing cookies, or remove existing cookies. To remove a cookie, the server must include a codice_2 header field with an expiration date in the past.


title: HTTP cookie

text: The value of a cookie may consist of any printable ASCII character (codice_34 through codice_35, Unicode codice_36 through codice_37) excluding and whitespace characters. The name of a cookie excludes the same characters, as well as codice_38, since that is the delimiter between the name and value. The cookie standard RFC 2965 is more restrictive but not implemented by browsers.


title: HTTP cookie

text: Cookies can also be set by scripting languages such as JavaScript that run within the browser. In JavaScript, the object codice_39 is used for this purpose. For example, the instruction codice_40 creates a cookie of name "temperature" and value "20".


title: HTTP cookie

text: In addition to a name and value, cookies can also have one or more attributes. Browsers do not include cookie attributes in requests to the server—they only send the cookie's name and value. Cookie attributes are used by browsers to determine when to delete a cookie, block a cookie or whether to send a cookie to the server.


title: HTTP cookie

text: The codice_41 and codice_42 attributes define the scope of the cookie. They essentially tell the browser what website the cookie belongs to. For security reasons, cookies can only be set on the current resource's top domain and its subdomains, and not for another domain and its subdomains. For example, the website codice_43 cannot set a cookie that has a domain of codice_44 because this would allow the website codice_43 to control the cookies of the domain codice_44.


title: HTTP cookie

text: If a cookie's codice_41 and codice_42 attributes are not specified by the server, they default to the domain and path of the resource that was requested. However, in most browsers there is a difference between a cookie set from codice_44 without a domain, and a cookie set with the codice_44 domain. In the former case, the cookie will only be sent for requests to codice_44, also known as a host-only cookie. In the latter case, all subdomains are also included (for example, codice_52). A notable exception to this general rule is Edge prior to Windows 10 RS3 and Internet Explorer prior to IE 11 and Windows 10 RS4 (April 2018), which always sends cookies to subdomains regardless of whether the cookie was set with or without a domain.


title: HTTP cookie

text: Below is an example of some codice_2 header fields in the HTTP response of a website after a user logged in. The HTTP request was sent to a webpage within the codice_52 subdomain:


title: HTTP cookie

text: Set-Cookie: LSID=DQAAAK…Eaem_vYg; Path=/accounts; Expires=Wed, 13 Jan 2021 22:23:01 GMT; Secure; HttpOnly


title: HTTP cookie

text: Set-Cookie: HSID=AYQEVn…DKrdst; Domain=.foo.com; Path=/; Expires=Wed, 13 Jan 2021 22:23:01 GMT; HttpOnly


title: HTTP cookie

text: Set-Cookie: SSID=Ap4P…GTEq; Domain=foo.com; Path=/; Expires=Wed, 13 Jan 2021 22:23:01 GMT; Secure; HttpOnly


title: HTTP cookie

text: The first cookie, codice_55, has no codice_41 attribute, and has a codice_42 attribute set to codice_58. This tells the browser to use the cookie only when requesting pages contained in codice_59 (the domain is derived from the request domain). The other two cookies, codice_60 and codice_61, would be used when the browser requests any subdomain in codice_62 on any path (for example codice_63). The prepending dot is optional in recent standards, but can be added for compatibility with RFC 2109 based implementations.


title: HTTP cookie

text: The codice_27 attribute defines a specific date and time for when the browser should delete the cookie. The date and time are specified in the form codice_65, or in the form codice_66 for values of YY where YY is greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 69.


title: HTTP cookie

text: Alternatively, the codice_28 attribute can be used to set the cookie's expiration as an interval of seconds in the future, relative to the time the browser received the cookie. Below is an example of three codice_2 header fields that were received from a website after a user logged in:


title: HTTP cookie

text: Set-Cookie: lu=Rg3vHJZnehYLjVg7qi3bZjzg; Expires=Tue, 15 Jan 2013 21:47:38 GMT; Path=/; Domain=.example.com; HttpOnly


title: HTTP cookie

text: Set-Cookie: reg_fb_gate=deleted; Expires=Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:01 GMT; Path=/; Domain=.example.com; HttpOnly


title: HTTP cookie

text: The first cookie, codice_69, is set to expire sometime on 15 January 2013. It will be used by the client browser until that time. The second cookie, codice_70, does not have an expiration date, making it a session cookie. It will be deleted after the user closes their browser. The third cookie, codice_71, has its value changed to "deleted", with an expiration time in the past. The browser will delete this cookie right away because its expiration time is in the past. Note that cookie will only be deleted if the domain and path attributes in the codice_2 field match the values used when the cookie was created.


title: HTTP cookie

text: The codice_5 and codice_6 attributes do not have associated values. Rather, the presence of just their attribute names indicates that their behaviors should be enabled.


title: HTTP cookie

text: The codice_5 attribute is meant to keep cookie communication limited to encrypted transmission, directing browsers to use cookies only via secure/encrypted connections. However, if a web server sets a cookie with a secure attribute from a non-secure connection, the cookie can still be intercepted when it is sent to the user by man-in-the-middle attacks. Therefore, for maximum security, cookies with the Secure attribute should only be set over a secure connection.


title: HTTP cookie

text: The codice_6 attribute directs browsers not to expose cookies through channels other than HTTP (and HTTPS) requests. This means that the cookie cannot be accessed via client-side scripting languages (notably JavaScript), and therefore cannot be stolen easily via cross-site scripting (a pervasive attack technique).


title: HTTP cookie

text: Most modern browsers support cookies and allow the user to disable them. The following are common options:


title: HTTP cookie

text: Cookies have some important implications for the privacy and anonymity of web users. While cookies are sent only to the server setting them or a server in the same Internet domain, a web page may contain images or other components stored on servers in other domains. Cookies that are set during retrieval of these components are called "third-party cookies". A third-party cookie, belongs to a domain different from the one shown in the address bar. This sort of cookie typically appears when web pages feature content from external websites, such as banner advertisements. This opens up the potential for tracking the user's browsing history and is used by advertisers to serve relevant advertisements to each user.


title: HTTP cookie

text: As an example, suppose a user visits codice_25. This website contains an advertisement from codice_79, which, when downloaded, sets a cookie belonging to the advertisement's domain (codice_79). Then, the user visits another website, codice_81, which also contains an advertisement from codice_79 and sets a cookie belonging to that domain (codice_79). Eventually, both of these cookies will be sent to the advertiser when loading their advertisements or visiting their website. The advertiser can then use these cookies to build up a browsing history of the user across all the websites that have ads from this advertiser, through the use of the HTTP referer header field.


title: HTTP cookie

text: , some websites were setting cookies readable for over 100 third-party domains. On average, a single website was setting 10 cookies, with a maximum number of cookies (first- and third-party) reaching over 800.


title: HTTP cookie

text: The older standards for cookies, RFC 2109 and RFC 2965, recommend that browsers should protect user privacy and not allow sharing of cookies between servers by default. However, the newer standard, RFC 6265, explicitly allows user agents to implement whichever third-party cookie policy they wish. Most modern web browsers contain privacy settings that can block third-party cookies, and some now block all third-party cookies by default - as of July 2020, such browsers include Apple Safari, Firefox, and Brave. Safari allows embedded sites to use Storage Access API to request permission to set first-party cookies. In May 2020, Google Chrome introduced new features to block third-party cookies by default in its Incognito mode for private browsing, making blocking optional during normal browsing. The same update also added an option to block first-party cookies. Chrome plans to start blocking third-party cookies by default in late 2024.


title: HTTP cookie

text: The possibility of building a profile of users is a privacy threat, especially when tracking is done across multiple domains using third-party cookies. For this reason, some countries have legislation about cookies.


title: HTTP cookie

text: Website operators who do not disclose third-party cookie use to consumers run the risk of harming consumer trust if cookie use is discovered. Having clear disclosure (such as in a privacy policy) tends to eliminate any negative effects of such cookie discovery.


title: HTTP cookie

text: The United States government has set strict rules on setting cookies in 2000 after it was disclosed that the White House drug policy office used cookies to track computer users viewing its online anti-drug advertising. In 2002, privacy activist Daniel Brandt found that the CIA had been leaving persistent cookies on computers that had visited its website. When notified it was violating policy, CIA stated that these cookies were not intentionally set and stopped setting them. On December 25, 2005, Brandt discovered that the National Security Agency (NSA) had been leaving two persistent cookies on visitors' computers due to a software upgrade. After being informed, the NSA immediately disabled the cookies.


title: HTTP cookie

text: In 2002, the European Union launched the Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications (e-Privacy Directive), a policy requiring end users' consent for the placement of cookies, and similar technologies for storing and accessing information on users' equipment. In particular, Article 5 Paragraph 3 mandates that storing technically unnecessary data on a user's computer can only be done if the user is provided information about how this data is used, and the user is given the possibility of denying this storage operation. The Directive does not require users to authorise or be provided notice of cookie usage that are functionally required for delivering a service they have requested, for example to retain settings, store log-in sessions, or remember what is in a user's shopping basket.


title: HTTP cookie

text: In 2009, the law was amended by Directive 2009/136/EC, which included a change to Article 5, Paragraph 3. Instead of having an option for users to opt out of cookie storage, the revised Directive requires consent to be obtained for cookie storage. The definition of consent is cross-referenced to the definition in European data protection law, firstly the Data Protection Directive 1995 and subsequently the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). As the definition of consent was strengthened in the text of the GDPR, this had the effect of increasing the quality of consent required by those storing and accessing information such as cookies on users devices. In a case decided under the Data Protection Directive however, the Court of Justice of the European Union later confirmed however that the previous law implied the same strong quality of consent as the current instrument. In addition to the requirement of consent which stems from storing or accessing information on a user's terminal device, the information in many cookies will be considered personal data under the GDPR alone, and will require a legal basis to process. This has been the case since the 1995 Data Protection Directive, which used an identical definition of personal data, although the GDPR in interpretative Recital 30 clarifies that cookie identifiers are included. While not all data processing under the GDPR requires consent, the characteristics of behavioural advertising mean that it is difficult or impossible to justify under any other ground.


title: HTTP cookie

text: Consent under the combination of the GDPR and e-Privacy Directive has to meet a number of conditions in relation to cookies. It must be freely given and unambiguous: preticked boxes were banned under both the Data Protection Directive 1995 and the GDPR (Recital 32). The GDPR is specific that consent must be as 'easy to withdraw as to give', meaning that a reject-all button must be as easy to access in terms of clicks and visibility as an 'accept all' button. It must be specific and informed, meaning that consent relates to particular purposes for the use of this data, and all organisations seeking to use this consent must be specifically named. The Court of Justice of the European Union has also ruled that consent must be 'efficient and timely', meaning that it must be gained before cookies are laid and data processing begins instead of afterwards.


title: HTTP cookie

text: The industry's response has been largely negative. Robert Bond of the law firm Speechly Bircham describes the effects as "far-reaching and incredibly onerous" for "all UK companies". Simon Davis of Privacy International argues that proper enforcement would "destroy the entire industry". However, scholars note that the onerous nature of cookie pop-ups stems from an attempt to continue to operate a business model through convoluted requests that may be incompatible with the GDPR.