Facebook Twitter Instagram
    • Services
    • Aircheck for Actors
    • Demo Reels
    • Audition Prep/Self-Tape Reader
    • Mailing Labels
    • Contribute
    • Industry Links
    • Advertise
    Daily Actor
    • Acting Tips
      • Actors on Acting
      • Advice Columns
      • Acting Quotes
      • Audition Tapes
      • How To Become An Actor
      • How to Memorize Lines
    • Monologues
      • Monologues from Plays
      • Monologues from Movies
      • Monologues from Musicals
      • Comedic Monologues
      • Dramatic Monologues
      • One Minute Monologues
      • Monologues for Women
      • Monologues for Men
      • Monologues for Teens
      • Monologues for Kids
      • All Monologues
    • Acting Resources
      • Acting Resume
        • Acting Resume Template
      • Acting Classes
        • Los Angeles Acting Classes
        • Las Vegas Acting Classes
        • San Diego Acting Classes
      • Acting Schools and Colleges
        • Los Angeles
        • New York
        • BFA Acting Schools
      • Casting Websites
      • Headshot Photographers
        • Los Angeles
        • New York City
        • Headshot Printing
      • Acting Techniques
        • What is Method Acting?
      • Stage Directions
      • Demo Reels: Everything You Need to Know
    • Interviews
      Featured
      Casting Director Interview - Brett Benner and Debby Romano

      Interview: Casting Directors Brett Benner and Debby Romano Talk ‘Shrinking’, Finding Actors and More

      Recent
      Casting Director Interview - Brett Benner and Debby Romano

      Interview: Casting Directors Brett Benner and Debby Romano Talk ‘Shrinking’, Finding Actors and More

      March 6, 2023
      Jeremy Davis Olaf in Frozen Interview

      Interview: Jeremy Davis on Playing Olaf in ‘Frozen’, Costume Mishaps and Making the Role His Own

      January 19, 2023
      Casting Director Kim Coleman Interview

      Interview: Casting Director Kim Coleman on ‘Five Days at Memorial’, Self-Tape Tips and Portraying Real People

      January 11, 2023
    • Actor Blogs
    • Reviews
      • Movies
      • Theater
      • Books
      • Products
    • Actor Services
      • Airchecks
      • Demo Reels
      • Website Design
      • Mailing Labels
    Daily Actor
    Home » Actors on Acting » Joaquin Phoenix on How He Found His ‘Joker’
    Actors on Acting

    Joaquin Phoenix on How He Found His ‘Joker’

    Chris McKittrickBy Chris McKittrickOctober 4, 2019Updated:October 4, 2019No Comments4 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

    “For me, the attraction to make this film and this character was that we were going to approach it in our own way. So for me, I didn’t refer to past interpretations of the character.” – Joaquin Phoenix

    Three-time Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix is known for being very tight-lipped when it comes to the press — in fact, he’s known for sometimes not saying anything at all during press conferences. So when Phoenix does speak about his work, it’s a rare treat. It’s even more of a bonus in the case of Joker, when Phoenix spoke about playing the famed comic book villain when the film debuted at the Venice Film Festival (where it won the Golden Lion).

    Though there have been several amazing iterations of the Joker on screen — from Caesar Romero to Jack Nicholson to Mark Hamill to Heath Ledger — Phoenix admitted that he sought his own approach to the character. He explains, “For me, the attraction to make this film and this character was that we were going to approach it in our own way. So for me, I didn’t refer to past interpretations of the character.”

    Like other Joker actors, Phoenix engaged in a physical transformation. In his case, he didn’t just put on makeup — he also lost over fifty pounds to reflect the character’s mindset. He says, “The first thing for us was the weight loss—I think that’s really what I started with. And, as 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. There’s a book that I read about political assassins and would-be assassins that I thought was really interesting, and kind of breaks down the different types of personalities that do those sorts of things.”

    Another key to finding his Joker identity was for Phoenix to journal in order to find the character’s thought process. Phoenix explains, “Very early on in the rehearsal, I was given the journal that he had—his journal and joke diary. And that was really helpful, because I had been there for a couple of weeks and wasn’t sure how I was going to start, and Todd [Phillips, director] sent this [empty] journal. I didn’t know what to write, so I asked [Todd] for some suggestions, and after a few days, I ignored his suggestions and suddenly it was coming out. It became a really important part of the discovery of the character at that time.”

    Of course, one of the key trademarks of the Joker is his maniacal laugh, and Phoenix reveals that it required a lot of practice for him to find the right “voice” for his version of the Joker’s laughter. He revealed:

    “Before I even read the script, Todd came over and talked me through what he wanted out of this character and this movie, and he showed me some videos, and he described the laughter as something that was almost painful. And so ultimately, I think Joker is a part of him that’s trying to emerge, and I think that was a really interesting way of looking at this laugh… It felt like a new, fresh way of looking at it. But honestly, I didn’t think that I could do it. I would practice alone and then asked Todd to come over to audition my laugh, because I felt like I had to do it on the spot and in front of somebody else. It took me a long time.”

    via The Daily Beast

    More: Joaquin Phoenix on Acting: “Don’t overthink it, let it be what it is”

    Related

    Previous ArticleTheatre Review: ‘Anastasia’
    Next Article Michelle Williams on Portraying Real-life Figures: “It’s a little like trying to tap into somebody’s spirit”

    Related Posts

    Jeremy Strong in Armageddon Time

    Jeremy Strong: “There’s infinite ways really to play any part. So you have to discover what feels necessary”

    March 14, 2023
    Christina Ricci

    How Christina Ricci Chooses Her Characters and Why She Loves ‘Yellowjackets’

    March 9, 2023
    Casting Director Interview - Brett Benner and Debby Romano

    Interview: Casting Directors Brett Benner and Debby Romano Talk ‘Shrinking’, Finding Actors and More

    March 6, 2023
    Add A Comment

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Daily Actor Facebook Daily Actor Twitter Daily Actor Instagram Daily Actor Pinterest Daily Actor YouTube Page
    Popular Pages
    Become An Actor | Acting Tips | Acting Quotes
    Acting Resume | Resume Template
    Headshot Photographers
    Los Angeles | New York
    Print Your Headshots
    Acting Schools & Colleges
    Los Angeles | New York
    Monologues
    Movies | Plays | Comedic | Dramatic
    Men | Women | Teens | Kids
    • Contact
    • About
    • Advertise
    • Resource Listings
    • Write A Column
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy

    Disclaimer: Daily Actor at times uses affiliate links to sites like Amazon.com, streaming services, and others. Affiliate links provides compensation to Daily Actor which helps us remain online, giving you the resources and information actors like you are looking for.

    © 2023 Daily Actor

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.