Early reactions to Joker are incredibly positive, with many singling out Joaquin Phoenix's turn as particularly praiseworthy. However, Phoenix has now revealed the physical transformation into Arthur Fleck/Joker took a psychological toll on him, as well as his experience of inhabiting the character and how he interprets his iconic laugh.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Phoenix lost 52 pounds for the role, which took a toll on him. "It turns out that affects your psychology," he said. "You start to go mad."
Phoenix also talked about how his conception of Joker changed during production and what interested him in the character. "Throughout the course of shooting it felt like every day we were discovering new parts of his personality, up until the very last day," said Phoenix. "It was his struggle to find happiness and to feel connected and to feel warmth and love and that’s the part of the character I was interested in. He was so many different things to me. Who he was in the first few weeks of shooting was completely different than who he was in the end. He was constantly evolving. I’ve never had an experience like this. The more unpredictable and looser we left it, the more exciting it was."
The actor also discussed the villain's iconic laugh, calling it "something that’s almost painful. I think for Joker it’s a part of him that wants to emerge. I think we all kind of assume what a Joker laugh is and it felt like a new, fresh way of looking at it."
"I didn’t think that I could do it," he added. "I kind of practiced alone but I asked Todd to come over to audition my laugh. I felt like I had to be able to do it on the spot and in front of somebody else. It was really uncomfortable. It took me a long time."
Directed by Todd Phillips, Joker stars Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Douglas Hodge, Marc Maron, Josh Pais and Shea Whigham. The film arrives in theaters Oct. 4.