Yahoo News Joaquin Phoenix talked to Christopher Nolan about Dark Knight Joker role
Joaquin Phoenix has revealed that he was considered for the Joker role in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight.
The actor has played the iconic villain since 2019, starring in the Joker movie and its recent sequel Folie à Deux. However, Phoenix has shared that he was initially approached to play the Joker in The Dark Knight, more than ten years prior to his titular role.
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Appearing on the Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin podcast, Phoenix recalled discussing the Dark Knight role with director Nolan, adding that it "didn't happen for whatever reason."
"I wasn't ready then. That's one of those things where it's like, 'What is in me that's not doing this?'" he explained. "And it's not about me. There's something else. There's another person who is going to do something.
"I don't know whether Christopher Nolan was coming to me saying, 'You're definitely the person.' I can't remember the context of how we met, but I know we met."
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He added: "My feeling was I shouldn't do this, but maybe he also was like, 'He's not the guy.'"
The character was eventually played by Heath Ledger, whose performance posthumously won him an Oscar for best supporting actor. "I can't imagine what it would be if we didn't have Heath Ledger's performance in that film, right?" Phoenix said.
Meanwhile, Phoenix's recent portrayal of the Joker is now available for US fans to watch at home. Joker: Folie à Deux was released to buy or rent on Prime Video, iTunes and other digital retailers on October 29. The sequel is still in showing in UK cinemas and will be digitally released tomorrow (November 4).
Joker: Folie à Deux is now available to buy or rent from Prime Video, iTunes and more in the US. It will be released digitally in the UK on Monday, November 4.
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