Actor Joaquin Phoenix claims one starts to "go mad" after losing a lot of weight. Following the premier of the DC film at the Venice Film Festival this weekend, described how he transformed himself to take on the role as the iconic comic book villain.
The new movie by director Todd Phillips narrates how Batman’s arch-enemy came to be. Phoenix plays the role of Arthur Fleck, a failed comedian and mentally-unstable man who later becomes the Joker.
In an interview with the Daily Beast, he admitted that what made him interested in the film and the character is that they will be using their own approach and so he didn’t need to study past interpretations of the character. Phoenix and Phillips met to discuss character design, particularly his look and laugh, six months prior to filming.
He mentioned that he lost a lot of weight to prepare for the role and this affected his mental state. He said, “The first thing for us was the weight loss—I think that’s really what I started with. And it turns out, that then affects your psychology. You start to go mad when you lose that amount of weight in that amount of time.”
As part of the preparation, he also read up on political assassins and would-be assassins he found interesting to study their different types of personalities.
Phoenix admitted that he struggled with the Joker’s laugh initially and had to practice alone before coming over to Phillips to audition it.
While some viewed Fleck’s life as a tragedy, Phoenix claimed that “It wasn’t just the torment; it was his struggle to find happiness, to feel connected, to find the warmth and love—that’s the part of the character I was interested in and worth exploring.”
At the Venice debut held last August 31 at Sala Grande, Phoenix received a standing ovation that lasted for eight minutes. Phillips hinted on the possibility of a sequel to the Joker movie.
