The magic number is 8 because Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal as the Joker will be the 8th feature film to utilise the iconic ‘Clown Prince of Crime’. Put on your clown make up and get ready for the 8 reasons why you should be excited for Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker.
Phoenix has been nominated for 3 Academy Awards over the course of his career
Joaquin Phoenix is one of the most critically acclaimed actors in post modern history. His performances in Gladiator, Walk The line and The Master lead him to be nominated for an Academy Award.
Both writers of Joker, Todd Phillips & Scott Silver, admitted to writing the film with no other actor in mind but Phoenix
Both Phillips and Silver have both told The New York Times that they did not contact any other actors for the role and personally visited Phoenix at his home. Phillips stated that he and Phoenix argued about the character’s weight – among other things – for 3 months.
According to multiple sources, The Venice Film Festival crowd gave Joker an 8 minute standing ovation
Not many films receive a standing ovation, let alone an 8 minute standing ovation. However apparently Joaquin’s performance was apparently so breathtaking the crowd could not contain their joy.
Joaquin’s version of the Joker will be a character study and focus more on the psychology of the iconic villain
Phoenix has made it abundantly clear by the roles he chooses to play that he does not want to be a big blockbuster star. He wants to be a serious actor. Therefore his interpretation of the Joker was not going to be a comic book adaptation or even apart of the DCEU. It was a one-off character study.
Joker has been given a R18+ rating due to the violent and disturbing portrayal of the Joker by Phoenix
Finally, DC has learnt from Marvel and has gone full blown R18+. The success of Deadpool and Logan can be pointed to their R18+ ratings which gave them an edge over family friendly comic book adaptations.
Joaquin Phoenix is currently the front runner for the Academy Award for Best Actor
The Academy Awards are next year but critics have already named Phoenix as ‘one of the only real contenders’, long with Adam Sandler for Uncut Gems and Adam Driver for Marriage Story.
Phoenix has taken no inspiration from previous interpretations of the Joker and instead watched countless videos of people suffering from pathological laughter
Previous Jokers have stated that they were inspired by former iterations of the Joker. However Phoenix has taken a different path and has been viewing videos of people with the very real disorder of pathological laughter.
Phoenix does not care about anyone’s expectations of his portrayal as the Joker
Joaquin Phoenix has made it quite clear across his career that how people view his performances does not affect him. He is able to work effectively without the added pressure of caring what people will say and think.
The internet backed Leonardo DiCaprio through memes and support on Reddit for years, and when he finally won his Academy Award we all felt satisfied. Joaquin Phoenix is next. The Joker is a career defining role that would be complex to portray. The role itself can either show an actor’s inability to take on this distinct type of role of, or cements an actor as prolific. Phoenix has already proved to be the latter.
Feature Image: CNet