The December issue of Empire magazine has The Joker on the cover, and Comic Book Movie got their hands on it and provided some awesome quotes. Inside, Jared Leto opens up about playing The Joker in Suicide Squad for the very first time.
“I was just thinking that the Joker would probably just say, ‘f*ck you,’ and hang up,” Leto joked as he began his phone interview with Empire. It’s been widely reported that Leto stayed in character as the Joker 24/7. Will Smith recently said he hasn’t met Jared Leto yet, despite working with him for six months!
“There was definitely a period of…detachment,” Leto explains. “I took a pretty deep dive. But this was a unique opportunity and I couldn’t imagine doing it another way. It was fun, playing those psychological games. But at the same time it was very painful, like giving birth out of my prick hole.”
Leto would call his co-star Jim Parrack, who plays Joker henchman Jonny Frost, and order him to do things like spray paint roses black or fill up a backpack with nine inch nails.
While in character, Leto said he listened to 1920s gospel music and read literature on shamans. “I always get the sense that The Joker may be much older than people think. It’s something different. If you don’t break rules, you’re not going to strike new ground. I think I’ll be cooling down for the rest of my life,” he explained.
Suicide Squad producer Charles Roven also chimed in on Leto’s new take on The Joker, and said that his outfit was inspired by Mexican cartels. According to Roven, he’s “more social…a very successful and smart businessman besides being a sociopath.”
Finally, director David Ayer explained how Jared Leto’s Joker will be different than the others we’ve seen before. “The Joker is the third rail of comic book movies. There’s a power to that character, and by some freaking miracle, through the incredible things Jared has done and the photography and all the other millions of things that went into it, we’ve cooked up something transcendent. He’s scary.”
SOURCE: Empire (via Comic Book Movie)
