Joaquin Phoenix Risked His Well Being and Went Mad by Losing 50 Lbs to Look Hungry and Unhealthy For His $1 Billion DC Movie
Hollywood has no shortage of talent as the industry is filled with outstanding actors and actresses. Versatile actors give their all to adept various roles in the film. Joaquin Phoenix who is popularly known for his role as Arthur Fleck in Joker has earned an Academy Award for his acting. Now he is reprising the beloved role in the second sequel named Joker: Folie Á Deux alongside Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn.
The sequel will be directed and produced by Todd Phillips. For the 2019 film, the actor earned a crazy amount of $4.5M for his performance. Joaquin Phoenix went through a lot of hard work and preparation for the role. But all that hard work paid off when his portrayal of Joker became a fan favorite.
Joaquin Phoenix Details His Strict Preparation For Joker
Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker
Joker’s role has been passed on from one actor to another. Every single actor has brought their own unique performance for the role. Speaking of Phoenix, he had to go through a complete body transformation to get into the character. He lost over 50 pounds to play the psychotic mastermind. In the film, he was supposed to “look hungry and unhealthy”, that’s why he got a restrictive diet from his doctor.
Joaquin Phoenix as The Joker in Joker (2019)
Transforming into a malnourished character wasn’t easy and the actor had to go through a lot of difficulties while doing it. He added, ” As it turns out, that impacts your psychology and you really start to go mad when you lose that much weight in that amount of time.” But yes the 48-year-old actor didn’t let this difficulty affect his performance but instead redirected it to give his best.
Joaquin Phoenix Always Wanted To Play Joker
The Joker (2019)
It’s always a privilege playing the iconic characters from fan-favorite comics. Joker has always been a beloved supervillain in the comics. In The Dark Knight, the role was played by the famous Heath Ledger and further was passed on to Jared Leto in Suicide Squad films. Joaquin Phoenix always had in mind to play a character like Joker. He also wished for playing it even before he was hired.
“Three or four years ago, I called my agent and said, ‘Why don’t they want to take one of these characters and just make a lower budget film about it, a movie but a character study, and why not take one of the villains?” So when he heard there was a Joker film in the makings, Phoenix was excited to take on the role, “I was like, ‘Oh, that’s so exciting, that’s the kind of experience I want to have, with a movie based on a comic character.’ I felt like you could get something on-screen.”
Well, Todd Phillips fulfilled his wish of becoming Joker and in no moment regretted his choice. There is a lot of enthusiasm among fans for the second installment which will be arriving in theatres next year. Behind-the-scenes set photos of Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix are already making rounds on the internet and have sent fans into a frenzy.
