Actor Joaquin Phoenix has revealed he lost an astonishing 52lbs for his role as the Clown Prince of Crime in the upcoming film 'Joker' - that’s more than 3.5 stone.
The star, who is the seventh actor to take on the character, made the revelation as he arrived for the 76th Venice Film Festival in Italy yesterday for the film's world premiere.
The film has been hailed by reviewers as the “most deranged version” of the Joker so far.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the 44-year-old actor revealed the weight loss role preparation “affects your psychology” and caused him to “start going mad”.
Joaquin admitted he did not look as past portrayals of the Joker by his predecessors, opting instead to read books about political assassins and would-be assassins, claiming they “kind of break down the different types of personalities that do those sorts of things.”
He also revealed that during filming, director Todd Phillips gave him a journal to document his character’s emotions and sense of humour.
Within days, the book began to fill up with the Joker’s nihilistic musings on the absurdities of life.
The diary would go on to help both the actor and the director discover and develop “new aspects” of the character right until the last day of filming.
Completely separate from every other DC film so far, Joker is a character study about a mentally ill individual who eventually transforms into the Joker.
The film will follow the downward spiral of Arthur Fleck, a failed stand-up comedian disregarded by society who is driven insane and becomes a psychotic criminal mastermind, The Joker.
The film is set to be released on October 4, 2019.
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