Who Should have Played the Joker and Other Behind-the-Scene Stories

The American thriller “Joker” by Todd Phillips, which broke world-record ratings, is full of behind-the-scenes curiosities, some that are entirely unexpected. The film, one of the most-watched this year, also won the Golden Lion at the 76th Venice International Film Festival.

– Actor Joaquin Phoenix, while working on the character of Arthur Fleck, studied the movements of actors in Buster Keaton’s silent movies.

– For the sake of filming, Phoenix was on a strict diet that made him lose 23.6 kilograms. He was assisted in this by the same nutritionist with whom he worked on the filming of the 2012 movie The Master.

– The scene with the Joker dancing in the bathroom was not in the script, but it happened spontaneously and then was retained in the final montage.

– Many scenes are improvised. The text was continually changing, with Todd Phillips himself confirming that Sophie was the character that was constantly changing during the making of the movie.

The stairs became an attraction

– The stairs, from a memorable scene, have become a new New York attraction for many visitors. Many fans of this movie now go to 1165 Shakespeare Avenue in the Bronx to take pictures on those steps imitating the Joker.

– The Brooklyn military building that served as the Arkam Sanatorium in the movie is also a fan target.

– The makeup worn by the Joker is reminiscent of the one worn by John Wayne Gacy, a serial killer accused of abducting, torturing, and killing 33 victims between 1972 and 1978.

– Contrary to usual movie-making techniques, Todd Phillips asked Hildur Gudnadottir to compose music for the film based on the script.

– Phoenix said he was not influenced by previous Jokers, that is, the cast of Heath Ledger, Jack Nicholson, Cesar Romero, and Jared Leto.

Who rejected the role of Thomas Wayne?

– Vigo Mortensen and Alec Baldwin reportedly refused to play the character of Thomas Wayne in this movie.

– The most surprising of all is that at the beginning of the production of this movie, the favorite for the lead role was Leonardo di Caprio.

– Joaquin Phoenix and the previous Joker Heath Ledger were close friends.