Jared Leto considered dealing drugs as a teen in a desperate bid to make money.

The screen star-turned-rocker has written a letter to his younger self for U.K. magazine The Big Issue and it reveals how his rebellious attitude as a 16 year old could easily have led him into a dark underworld of drugs and lawbreaking.

He explains, "I was at a crossroads in life when I was 16. I was taking a look at my opportunities and what I'd do with my life and how I'd go about it. I didn't know I was going to be an actor. I thought it might be an artist or a painter. Or maybe a drug dealer. But I didn't know which path I would take. It's just fortunate that I chose one over the other."

Addressing his tough teen years, Leto explains, "I was in trouble quite a bit with the authorities, any person who made rules or the law. I dropped out of school. My adolescence was actually a very turbulent time for me... Probably a lot of my behaviour was related to doing drugs.

"I'd like to go back and reassure my younger self that things will be okay and he should remember how much our choices impact on our lives and how much responsibility we have for our own lives. And how much hard work pays off. And that it's okay to dream as big as you can dream. I'd tell him to hang on tight, and listen, and to bet on himself."