Joaquin Phoenix has revealed that he was initially uncertain about playing the starring role in the forthcoming comic book movie Joker, but that it ended up being one of “the greatest experiences of [his] career”.
During a Q&A session at the Toronto Film Festival last night, the Oscar nominee said of playing the role: “I mean honestly, it wasn’t an easy decision at first. I didn’t f***ing know. I didn’t. But then there was something that was drawing me towards it.
He continued: “It just evolved as we worked together. It started becoming something more than I anticipated. It was one of the greatest experiences of my career.”
His performance has earned Oscar buzz since the film’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month. There the film also took home the prestigious Golden Lion award, which was last year awarded to Roma, and received a reported eight-minute standing ovation upon its debut.
Joker director Todd Phillips told Variety that he has been too overwhelmed by the film’s positive reviews to even think about future awards success.
“Honestly we just can’t believe about the Venice thing,” he said. “We’re still getting our footing.”
The film, dubbed “even darker and more gothic than Christopher Nolan’s Batman films” in The Independent’s review, will be released in the UK on 4 October.
