CBR has reported that actor Jared Leto, who plays the Joker in the upcoming SUICIDE SQUAD movie to be released next year, started to get into character with his alter ego the Clown Prince of Crime WAY BEFORE he was on the set. He did so by welcoming some of the cast member with strange gifts. Here is a copy of article
It’s now a bit of a tradition — if you play the Joker on film, you have to really get into character. Following in Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger’s footsteps, Jared Leto — who will debut as Joker in 2016’s “Suicide Squad” — has wasted no time slipping into the mindset of the Clown Prince of Crime. In an interviewwith E! Online, Leto’s “Squad” co-star Adam Beach revealed that the Academy Award-winning actor greeted all of his castmates with some gruesome gifts.
“He sent Harley [Margot Robbie] a nice love letter with a black box with a rat in it — a live rat,” revealed Adam Beach, who is reportedly playing Slipknot in the film. “It was beautiful. Then he sent bullets to Will [Smith] with a letter.”
Since “Suicide Squad” began filming before Leto arrived on set, the actor apparently felt the need to assure his co-stars that he was preparing for the role. This involved sending a “dead hog” to the set, addressed to everyone, with an accompanying video message featuring himself in full Joker mode.
“Basically, what he said was, ‘Guys, I can’t be there but I want you to know I’m doing my work as hard as you guys,'” said Beach. “The video he showed is in character. It blew our minds away. Then we realized that day, this is real.”
Beach went on to talk about Leto’s specific rendition of the Joker. “He encompasses this beautiful man and he shows it in, ‘Hello, how are you?,’ but in an instant, he goes to psychotic behavior where you’re in fear. But you love him because he has both of those genuine sides.”
“Suicide Squad” opens on August 5, 2016.
I don’t know…maybe there is hope for this Joker portrayal after all. I mean if an Oscar winning actor is so invested in his character to do this, maybe we will see a successful characterization of everybody’s favorite psychopathic Clown…ONLY TIME WILL TELL
(Original article by BRETT WHITE appeared in CBR HERE)
I know, I’m a few days late, but I have been busy and to tell you the truth, though I don’t want to run an early judgement with just a few seconds of footage, it’s hard for me not to get disappointed in the direction SUICIDE SQUAD is taking Joker and Harley Quinn. I’m a big fan of the Clown, but Suicide Squad’s Joker seems like a bad idea from the beginning at least for me (and I don’t know who to blame). My only hope is that Mr. Leto’s talent would be able to salvage this incarnation of the CLOWN PRINCE OF CRIME and make it memorable. I shall wait patiently for more footage to make a more educated opinion on the subject.
