If Joaquin Phoenix’s comedic killer Arthur Fleck returns to screens after “Joker: Folie à Deux,” he’ll almost certainly need to put on a few pounds. The new film from Todd Phillips only just premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, and in a press conference (via Variety), Phoenix explained that the body transformation required to play The Joker was “difficult” but “safe.” Presumably answering a question from a member of the press who was concerned about his emaciated on-screen appearance, Phoenix replied: “You’re right. I’m now 49, I probably shouldn’t do this again. This is probably it for me.”
Of course, this off-the-cuff remark shouldn’t be taken as Phoenix closing the door on the Arthur Fleck character altogether. Instead, it could be the line in the sand Hollywood needs to finally reel in its obsession with unhealthy transformation for the sake of performance. Back in 2019, “Joker” costar Zazie Beetz told Collider that the first film wasn’t able to do reshoots “because Joaquin had lost so much weight,” a statement that implies that the full extent of the actor’s physical transformation may not have been planned. Phoenix told the Associated Press that he had obsessed over losing the last bit of weight for the role, admitting that “you really develop like a disorder” when focused on extreme weight change for the sake of a role.
Phoenix says he probably won’t put his body through the Joker diet again
While the actor shared the details of his transformation process after the first film wrapped, he was careful not to go too in-depth at today’s press event — a smart choice given that mentioning numbers and methods involved in extreme dieting can impact others recovering from eating disorders. “I’m not going to talk through specifics of the diet, because I just think nobody wants to hear that,” Phoenix said, giving a rather self-deprecating reason for staying mum about details like the number of pounds he lost. “It just sounds like an actor going on and on about how much weight they lost,” he explained. “By the end of that run I was so sick of myself and angry at myself for making such a big deal about that part.”
Still, Phoenix conceded that an added level of physicality required for “Joker: Folie à Deux” made the transformation trickier. “But this time, it felt a bit more complicated just because there was so much dance rehearsal that we were doing, which I didn’t have last time, so it felt a bit more difficult, but it is safe.” That’s when Phoenix said he probably wouldn’t put his body through the rigamarole again — an understandable sentiment that’s been shared by other actors in the past. In 2017, Tom Hardy spoke to The Daily Beast about his long history of grueling physical transformations for the sake of a role, saying, “I think you pay the price with any drastic physical changes.”
Other major stars have also sworn off body transformations
“It was alright when I was younger, to put myself under that kind of duress,” Hardy theorized, “but I think as you get into your 40s you have to be more mindful of the rapid training, packing on a lot of weight and getting physical, and then not having enough time to keep training because you’re busy filming, so your body is swimming in two different directions at the same time.” He noted that losing weight is similarly impactful, saying, “To go from one extreme to another has a cost.” Meanwhile, as a younger star with a different perspective on Hollywood’s bad habits, 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 (something Phillips currently doesn’t seem open to), 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 have to see someone’s rib cage to understand that they’re not feeling well, nor does the franchise need to equate its rather romantic vision of mental illness with skinniness. At today’s press conference, Phoenix said that his costar Stefani Germanotta –- better known as Lady Gaga –- also lost weight to play the role of Harley Quinn. Unless there’s a subplot about Arkham Asylum refusing to serve the inmates food, the punishing body-changing routine feels pretty unnecessary. I hope Phoenix is right, and that he won’t end up pushing his body to extremes again for a role. But I also hope that Hollywood gets its act together enough to realize it shouldn’t ask him –- or anyone –- to.
“Joker: Folie à Deux” hits theaters on October 4, 2024.