Shea Whigham.<\/strong><\/p>\nFor Phoenix, this is another role where he re-invents himself and embodies the essence of who Joker is. We’ve seen other actors play the character in films and TV but never with an origin story. Having had lead roles in Signs, Walk The Line, The Master and Her, Phoenix did something different here and lost a ton of weight for the role.<\/p>\n
In speaking with Blackfilm,com, Phoenix goes over his experience in playing such an iconic character.<\/p>\n
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When did you first envision how you would play the role? Was it the first or second time you read the script?<\/strong><\/p>\nJoaquin Phoenix:<\/strong> Usually I do have an immediate reaction to some of what I’m reading and sometimes those feelings change and you reconsider it. And sometimes some of those initial feelings that you have still performs months later when you when you do the movie. This one changed much more than than I had anticipated. It was such an evolution.<\/p>\nWith this being an origin tale, how would best describe Arthur Fleck and what did you want to add to the character that’s similar to what fans know, are the essence of Joker?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Joaquin Phoenix:<\/strong> To be honest, I didn’t try to add anything in consideration of an audience or fan. I don’t think that’s the way to create a character. It has to be kind of their own personal exploration and research. When I first read the script, there were part of Arthur that were self pitying and a behavior that I thought was repugnant and pushed me away. But I noticed certain behavior in the script, that to me, were telltale signs of PTSD, fight or flight or freezing and when he gets attacked by these kids, he just sits there and takes it. He doesn’t respond. So that let me to investigate more on PTSD. I think once I saw the telltale sign, I realized that this part of his story, this childhood trauma, that he experienced seemed to be true to me. Then I had a lot of sympathy for him, for somebody whose brain has been has been altered by the trauma they experienced. Now they are in this heightened space in which they perceive threat everywhere. I thought those are really important parts of the character; something that I wouldn’t have expected in this type of movie.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
As you mentioned PTSD, is this the most amount of research you\u2019ve done for a film?<\/strong><\/p>\nJoaquin Phoenix:<\/strong> No, I don\u2019t think so. I always feel I do an equal amount. It shows more with certain characters.<\/p>\nWith you losing weight for the role, did you have a certain number as to how much you wanted to lose?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Joaquin Phoenix: W<\/strong>ell, one of the first things I started to research when I got the script was the medication that he was on, and the side effects on those medications, What I discovered all over the messaging boards was how much Arthur’s weight is, and how it\u2019s altered as a side effect to the medication. And there are people that either gain weight or lose weight. So it seemed like, it was something that was important to talk about because I felt the medication plays a big role to the person he becomes. I thought there was something that might illustrate that. At the time, I talked about it, and I’m obviously lazy. So I suggested that we do weight gains, because that would be easier for me. But luckily, Todd, as far as availability in the test of weight loss, we would do that. But I didn’t want done it before and processed?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
How long did it take to gain the weight back to your normal size?<\/strong><\/p>\nJoaquin Phoenix:<\/strong> A day. No, really like a month. I think for a month, I just ate everything. I would in my house and eat.<\/p>\nCan you talk about working with Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz and some of the other actors?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Joaquin Phoenix:<\/strong> In working with De Niro, we had a condensed course of five days, and we shot it all sequencing. There\u2019s not a lot of time to socialize. It\u2019s something that I don\u2019t really want to do anyways. So, we just didn’t communicate that much. It also it depends on the role. For this, I didn’t feel like there was a lot to talk about with people that wasn’t related to the film. Zazie was amazing because her character went through a lot of changes. The conception of the character from when we started to what we landed on. So we had a lot more time working with Todd and discussing the dynamic between the characters and what would work. There were things that I did that changed the character once we’re shooting for ourselves, and I think it affected her character that required changes, so we talked more.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
With Frances Conroy, I think in just working with her, I started to imagine more of our shared history and how she might have behaved with my character younger, and it really changed the way that I looked at certain things. Particularly the laugh, which was first written as a condition. And at some point, I started imagining that something that she would tell him because she didn’t know how to tell other people, and why he had these bursts of laughter. I started to question what she might have told me, and that ended up affecting one of our final scenes together and what I said to her, and it affected the way that I approached and thought about the laugh. When you start to work with people, it can have an impact on the characters just from interacting with them.<\/p>\n
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Where did your love, if any, for comic books come from? Were you a fan of the comic book franchise? Now that we’ve got a ton of comic book films coming out, do you go see them? Did you read comic books growing up?<\/strong><\/p>\nJoaquin Phoenix:<\/strong> I used to collect when I was a kid. I was about 14 years older, so I collect it for a couple years. I still have them. I don\u2019t collect anymore. I stopped several years ago. I still have four full boxes.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In working with Todd, you guys worked a lot to develop this character. When you work with a director, I like to think there’s something that you can take on to your next project. So, in working with Todd, what is there anything that you learned from his technique that helps you out as you go along to your next project?<\/strong><\/p>\nJoaquin Phoenix: Of course, there are and I don’t know, I don’t know what what they are. Specifically, I can’t remember but some of it is dependent on him being present, that I don’t think I can apply to other jobs. The way that he comes up with a line in the moment. His brain works so quickly, that I couldn’t use the same technique with somebody else because I would see him there to there. So there’s something that gave me a great deal of confidence when shooting these scenes. If I saw something that didn\u2019t feel right, he could help you identify it, and offer up a solution and an alternative line that would make it work.<\/p>\n
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What goes into saying yes to the projects that you take?<\/strong><\/p>\nJoaquin Phoenix:<\/strong> The filmmaker. It’s really that simple. The motivating factors, the decisive factor is the filmmaker and whether I think that there’s somebody that has a unique take on what it is that they’re trying to say and whether they’re a filmmaker that can’t be replicated. The way Todd makes movies, nobody can make those movies but him and so that’s always the deciding factor.<\/p>\n
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