'CHRISTMAS MIRACLE': Jared Leto finds missing Oscar after losing award during a move

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After misplacing his Oscar in a move six years ago, Jared Leto has finally found his Academy Award.

In 2021, Leto, 52, told former late-night host James Corden that his golden statuette went missing when he switched houses in Los Angeles three years prior.

“I don’t think anyone wanted to tell me,” Leto, who also fronts the rock band 30 Seconds to Mars, told Corden at the time. “But I had moved houses in LA and then when we moved, it somehow just magically kind of disappeared.”

The actor-musician said he looked everywhere for the award, which he won for his supporting work playing a transgender drug addict opposite Matthew McConaughey in 2013’s Dallas Buyers Club, to no avail.

“It could be somewhere, but everyone’s searched for it, high and low, but I hope it’s in good hands wherever it is,” Leto said. “But, we haven’t seen it for quite some time. It’s not the sort of thing someone accidentally throws in the trash. I hope someone is caring for it!”

As part of a photo dump shared to his Instagram this week, Leto revealed he had located the trophy, posting a selfie of himself holding the award along with the caption: “Found my Oscar.”

Leto didn’t reveal where it was discovered, but that didn’t stop some of his over 11.9 million followers from speculating it could be a “Christmas miracle.”

“I want to know, was the Oscar in the attic? Or maybe next to a bowling bag in the garage?” one fan asked.

In a 2014 interview with the Associated Press, Leto said that he had fond memories of celebrating the award the night he won, telling the outlet it was a “filthy mess” from people touching it.

“I damaged it. But then I came home and saw it had another nick on it. So it looks like someone else had fun with it, too,” Leto said in an interview. “My Oscar is a filthy mess. Everybody was pawing that thing. I kind of was just passing it around at parties. A couple of times I lost sight of it and I thought, ‘You know, if it goes away, it’s not meant to be mine.’ But it always seemed to find its way back to me.”

The award came after Leto had taken a lengthy break from acting to concentrate on making music with Thirty Seconds to Mars. After the win, Leto returned to his work in front of the camera, balancing his two passions.

“Now … you have opportunities to work with people that you really respect or admire, people whose work has been inspiring and influential,” he told AP at the time.

Leto will next be seen acting in TRON: Ares, which opens in theatres next year.

mdaniell@postmedia.com