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Joaquin Phoenix Admits He Was Afraid Of Taking The Joker Role


DC fans might have been pretty excited when they heard that Warner Brothers decided to cast Joaquin Phoenix as the Clown Prince of Crime in Todd Phillip's Joker movie, but it turns out that the Academy Award-winning actor was actually pretty hesitant to take on the role the first time it was offered to him.

Speaking in an interview with Total Film (via Games Radar) to talk about one of the most highly anticipated films of the year, Phoenix actually admitted that it took him quite a while to commit to The Joker.

"It took me a while [to commit]," the actor said. "Now, when I look back, I don't understand why."

The site asked whether the Walk The Line and the Her star had been a bit afraid when he was first offered the role, and Phoenix agreed.

"There was a lot of fear, yeah," the actor admitted, "But I always say there's motivating fear and debilitating fear. There's the fear where you cannot make a f--king step, and there's the kind where it's like, ‘OK, what do we do? That's not good enough.' And you're digging deeper and deeper. I love that kind of fear. It guides us, makes us work harder."

While he was initially fearful of becoming DC's new Joker, the actor seemed o be challenged by the role. Phoenix wants to explore the inner workings of Gotham's Clown Prince of Crime in a film that's meant to be a character study of the Joker. Knowing Phoenix's talent at acting, we're betting that The Master star is going to give Heath Ledger a run for his money when the Joker premieres later this year.

Joker is set for release on August 6, 2021.

Read: Joker Director Todd Phillips Open to Making a Sequel

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