What Joaquin Phoenix Really Went Through To Play The Joker

When Joaquin Phoenix won the Best Actor Oscar unbelievably, his first for Joker at the 92nd Academy Awards, it seemed a bit like he was the only one who was surprised. The actor challenged himself physically, mentally, and emotionally to bring us the best screen performance of 2019.

Although Phoenix famously didn't look to any previous screen interpretations of the Joker including Heath Ledger's in crafting his performance, he did share one aspect of the late Dark Knight star's approach to the role. Phoenix found himself very isolated while shooting the film, for a couple of reasons. For one, it was difficult for him to simply turn off Arthur Fleck at the end of the day.

In an interview with Metro, the actor said:

"At the end of the night there was never really an end. It stayed with me every night after work for another two or three hours. I never felt this moment of being done with my work day [...] I didn't socialize at all. The person I interacted with was [director Todd Phillips]. That became my world. It was nonstop."

Phoenix also revealed that as a by-product of his own strict diet, his opportunities to interact with the cast and crew were even more limited than they might otherwise have been. He said:

"I also didn't really have a life at that time because I couldn't go out to eat."

Fortunately, the role was simply so stimulating for Phoenix that he actually found these conditions to be agreeable. He said:

"I want to say it was super hard. But it was so inspiring, that as much energy I put into it, it gave it back. I would go home after work and we would just talk about the next scene. I was just super excited. I would show up at set two hours early to just sit in the trailer and talk about it."

Phoenix famously lost over 50 pounds for the role of Arthur Fleck. In a wide-ranging talk with USA Today about Joker, he revealed that he subsisted largely on a diet of steamed green beans, apples, and lettuce during the shoot. This was nothing new. He had lost a similar amount of weight for his role in Paul Thomas Anderson's acclaimed 2012 drama The Master. Just because he had done it before, though, doesn't mean that he was in any way keen to repeat the experience . Keep watching the video to see what Joaquin Phoenix really went through to play the Joker

#Joker #JoaquinPhoenix #JoaquinPhoenixOscar

Self isolation | 0:16
That weight loss was no joke | 1:37
Pinning down the laugh | 2:49
Living with uncertainty | 4:10


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