Putting your own unique spin on a character that has already been played on the big screen by acting legends like Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger is no mean feat – but Joaquin Phoenix certainly managed it in Joker.
Joaquin’s incarnation of the character stands out for a variety of reasons, most notably his signature sinister laugh, his nervous disposition and, of course, his gaunt and drawn appearance.
With the aid of a doctor, the Oscar winner lost a significant amount of weight to play Arthur Fleck at the suggestion of director Todd Phillips – but if the actor had his way, the character would have looked very different.
Around the release of Joker back in 2019, Joaquin told the New York Times that he’d already lost weight for other roles in the past, describing it as “a horrible way to live”.
Instead, he suggested that the character should be “kind of heavy”, but the filmmaker was adamant that “real thin” was the way to go for Joker.
Joaquin shed the pounds once again for the newly-released Joker sequel Folie À Deux, but insisted at the film’s Venice Film Festival premiere last month that it wasn’t something he’d be doing again.
“I’m not going to talk through specifics of the diet, because I just think nobody wants to hear that,” he told reporters.
“But this time, [losing weight] felt a bit more complicated, just because there was so much dance rehearsal that we were doing, which I didn’t have last time.”
“So it felt a bit more difficult, but it is safe,” he continued. “I’m now 49, I probably shouldn’t do this again. This is probably it for me.”
The Walk The Line star is joined in Folie À Deux by Grammy winner Lady Gaga, who puts her own slant on another iconic Batman villain, Harley Quinn.
Joker: Folie À Deux is in cinemas now.