For many actors, especially those that subscribe to the Daniel Day-Lewis school of “method acting,” taking on a role as a psychopathic clown-face serial killer, such as the Batman villain, The Joker, can do a number on your mental health. We saw what it did recently when Jared Leto took on the role of Joker for “Suicide Squad,” where he reportedly sent dead rats and used condoms to castmates. And in the case of Joaquin Phoenix, who plays the character in “Joker,” it appears that the actor might not have gone full “method” but did go down a disturbing rabbit hole, himself.
Speaking to the Italian magazine, Il Vernerdi, Phoenix explained the lengths he went to become Joker and, particularly, to find the iconic laugh that many fans will instantly judge him by.
“I saw videos showing people suffering from pathological laughter, a mental illness that makes mimicry uncontrollable,” said Phoenix.
And for those not aware, the actor is referencing a real condition called PLC (Pathological Laughter or Crying) that finds its sufferers breaking out into uncontrollable fits of laughter or crying. There’s no apparent trigger for this response, and it can wreak havoc on people’s lives. While Joker hasn’t ever really been diagnosed with any sort of PLC-like illness in the source material, there has always been an uncomfortableness with his laughter, as he finds murder and other horrible tragedies hilarious.
We have had hints of what Phoenix’s laugh might sound like in the first teaser for the upcoming film, but we have yet to really see how the actor is going to embody the iconic villain. We do know that Todd Phillips’ film isn’t your typical “superhero movie” and is more of a character study of what can lead a man from being semi-normal to a homicidal maniac.
“Joker” is premiering at Venice and making the festival rounds before arriving in theaters on October 4.