If Joaquin Phoenix’s comedy killer Arthur Fleck returns to the screen after “Joker: Folie a do”, he will definitely have to gain a few pounds. Todd Phillips’ new film recently premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, and at a press conference (via Variety), Phoenix explained that the physical transformation required to play the Joker was “difficult” but “safe”. Possibly responding to a question from a member of the press who was concerned about his gaunt on-screen appearance, Phoenix replied: “You’re right. I’m 49 now, I probably shouldn’t do it again. Maybe that’s it for me.”
Of course, this off-the-cuff comment shouldn’t be taken as Phoenix closing the door on playing Arthur Fleck. Instead, it could be a line in the sand that Hollywood needs to finally curb its obsession with unhealthy transformations for the sake of performance. Back in 2019, “Joker” co-star Zazie Beetz told Collider Phoenix said that reshoots for the first film were not done because “Joaquin had lost too much weight”, implying that the actor’s physical transformation may not have been fully planned. told the Associated Press He said he became obsessed with losing all of the weight for the role, admitting that when you focus so much on changing your weight for a role, “you really do develop a sort of disorder”.
Phoenix says he’ll probably never put his body on the Joker diet again
Though the actor shared details about his transformation process after filming for the first movie wrapped, he didn’t go into too much detail at today’s press event — a wise decision, since it involved revealing the numbers and methods involved in extreme dieting. The impact it can have on other people recovering from eating disorders”I’m not going to go into great detail about the diet, because I think nobody wants to hear that,” Phoenix said. He also gave a self-deprecating reason for keeping quiet about his weight loss. “It’s like an actor constantly talking about how much weight he’s lost,” he explained. “By the end of that performance I was so bored with myself and angry at myself for making such a big deal out of that part.”
Still, Phoenix admitted that the added level of physicality required for “Joker: Folie a Do” made the transformation difficult. “But this time, it felt a little more complicated because we were doing a lot of dance rehearsals, which I didn’t do last time, so it felt a little more difficult, but it’s safer.” Phoenix said he probably wouldn’t put his body through such movements again — an understandable sentiment that has been shared by other actors in the past. In 2017, Tom Hardy spoke The Daily Beast Speaking about his long history of undergoing drastic physical transformations for a role, he said, “I think there’s a price to pay for any drastic physical transformation.”
Other major stars have also steered clear of physical transformations
“When I was younger, it was fine to put yourself under that kind of pressure,” Hardy theorized, “but I think as you get into your 40s, you have to be more careful about training intensely, gaining a lot of weight and being physically active, and then not having enough time to continue training because you’re busy with filming, so your body is swimming in two different directions at the same time.” He added that losing weight is similarly impressive, adding, “There’s a price to going from one extreme to the other.” Meanwhile, as a younger star with a different view of Hollywood’s vices, Tom Holland has vowed to stay away from roles requiring extreme weight loss after trying it just once.
The solution here seems simple: If Arthur Fleck is going to return for a third “Joker” movie (Phillips is not currently set to do so), then Phillips and Phoenix can simply stop focusing so much on his physical body as a representation of the character’s twisted mind. We don’t need to see someone’s ribs to understand that they’re not feeling well, nor does the franchise need to equate its romanticized view of mental illness with thinness. At today’s press conference, Phoenix said that his co-star Stefani Germanotta — better known as Lady Gaga — also lost weight to play Harley Quinn. Unless there’s a sub-plot about refusing to serve food to the inmates of Arkham Asylum, the punishing body-switching routine seems pretty unnecessary. I hope Phoenix is right, and he’ll never push his body to extremes again for a role. But I also hope that Hollywood gets its act together enough to realize that it — or anyone else — shouldn’t be asked to do this.
“Joker: Folie a Deux” will be released in theaters on October 4, 2024.
