Why Joker 2 Star Joaquin Phoenix Won’t Be Losing That Much Weight Again

Joker: Folie à Deux will see Joaquin Phoenix once again shed a lot of weight to play the titular role, but it was a lot more difficult for the anticipated sequel. The upcoming Joker film sees Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck where audiences left off with him, this time joined by Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, someone who reveres Fleck. As seen in the trailer, Folie à Deux will have its main characters sing and dance, elements that complicated Phoenix’s physical transformation as the iconic DC Comics villain.

In an interview with Variety, Joaquin Phoenix is candid about losing weight to play Joker the second time around, teasing it will probably be his last time doing so. Due to the physical nature of the singing portions of the film, which include plenty of dance numbers, the weight management was far more complicated (he still stresses it was “safe,” though). Phoenix doesn’t reveal exactly how much weight he lost this time, mainly because he feels like he talked about weight loss too much for the first Joker, but he apparently did jokingly whisper into his microphone that “it was 47 pounds.”

“I’m not going to talk through specifics of the diet, because I just think nobody wants to hear that. 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. But you’re right, I’m now 49, I probably shouldn’t do this again. This is probably it for me.”

What Makes Joker 2 Stand Out as Part-Musical

The music element to Joker: Folie à Deux clearly helps define how the sequel develops its lead character and Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn. However, do not call the movie a musical in any circumstances, as the filmmakers behind Folie à Deux truly believe it lives outside that genre despite the borrowed elements. In a previous interview, Joaquin Phoenix revealed how the Joker sequel tackled singing as a part of the character’s expression, especially without sounding like a professional singer.

“It was important to protect that with poor phrasing and occasional bum note. Arthur grew up hearing his mother play these songs on the radio. He’s not a singer, and he shouldn’t sound like a professional singer. He should sound like somebody that’s taking a shower and just bursts out into song.”

Obviously, Lady Gaga participates in the song and dance sequences from Joker: Folie à Deux, but she will also adopt a similar non-professional singing style alongside Phoenix. She had to actually “unlearn” singing techniques, which she honed throughout her career as an incredible singer. Gaga told Empire how she approached singing as Harley Quinn in Joker 2:

“I’m a trained singer, right? So even my breathing was different when I sang as Lee. When I breathe to sing on stage, I have this very controlled way to make sure that I’m on pitch and it’s sustained at the right rhythm and amount of time, but Lee would never know how to do any of that. So it’s like removing the technicality of the whole thing, removing my perceived art-form from it all and completely being inside of who she is.”