In a new interview,
Joker writer and director Todd Phillips has revealed that the movie was always written with Joaquin Phoenix in mind, and that no one else was ever in the running to play the villain.
As you may recall, Leonardo DiCaprio was once rumoured to take on the role of the Clown Prince of Crime, but the filmmaker has now confirmed that he was never being eyed for
Joker as,
"We wrote the movie for Joaquin." However, it wasn't exactly an easy task to convince Phoenix to sign on.
"He was not keen on jumping into costume in any comic-book movie," Phillips admitted.
"I kept waiting for him to just say, ‘O.K., I’m in,’ And he never did that," he continued.
"You just never get a yes. All you get is more questions. It wasn’t an easy decision, but [Phillips] kept saying, ‘Let’s just be bold. Let’s do something.’"
The New York Times notes that it took three months of Phillips repeatedly visiting Phoenix at home to win him over, and they often disagreed about how the character should be portrayed. Phoenix viewed The Joker as a heavy-set character while the filmmaker envisioned him as being extremely thin. Ultimately, Philips won his star over, and, based on what we've seen, it was a smart move.
What do you guys think of these comments from the
Joker director?
Hit the "View List" button to check out the reactions to
the movie from the Toronto International Film Festival!