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Jared Leto met with real-life psychopaths to prepare for ‘Joker’ role
Jared Leto channeled his inner Clarise Starling on Tuesday, as the Oscar-winning actor revealed that he conversed with real-life psychopaths and their psychiatrists while researching his role as the criminally-insane Joker for the upcoming flick, Suicide Squad.
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Jared Leto arrives at CinemaCon 2016: Warner Bros. "The Big Picture" Presentation on April 12, 2016 in Las Vegas, NV. (Shutterstock/DFree)
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ared Leto channeled his inner Clarise Starling on Tuesday, as the Oscar-winning actor revealed that he conversed with real-life psychopaths and their psychiatrists while researching his role as the criminally-insane Joker for the upcoming flick, Suicide Squad.
Citing Entertainment Weekly, The Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman said he fully immersed himself in the crazed character by meeting “people who had committed horrendous crimes” in order to understand the villain’s violent world.
“To the Joker, violence is a symphony. This is someone who gets an extreme reward from the act of violence and manipulation,” said Leto regarding his highly unorthodox method.
“I did meet with people that were experts, doctors, psychiatrists that dealt with psychopaths and people who had committed horrendous crimes, and then I spent some time with those people themselves, people who have been institutionalized for great periods of time,” he added.
The role of the schizophrenic clown is famously disturbing to play—proven by deceased actor and former Joker Heath Ledger, who locked himself up in a hotel room for weeks, while keeping a diary filled with ominous thoughts.
“It’s a very intoxicating role,” Leto confirmed. “I think the Joker lives in between reality and another plane. You have permission to break rules and to challenge yourself and anyone around you in a really unique way.”
Leto remained in character the entire time on set, playing pranks on his cast members and sending a variety of weirdly disturbing gifts including—anal beads, used condoms and even a pig carcass.
“I did what I needed to do to deliver the best I possibly could. It’s not a part-time job. It’s immersive. It takes over your life and that’s what I needed to do for myself,” added the 44-year-old actor.
Meantime, the Joker’s updated outfit and make-up shocked many DC Comics fans when it was unveiled last year, as it featured the clown’s lurid green hair, piercings, tattoos and silver teeth—a look completely different from previous portrayals.
“There were things I brought to the table and things David [the director] brought to the table and it was a mashup of both of our sick and twisted minds,” said the actor.
Leto’s version of the iconic yet psychotic villain will terrorize theaters on August 5.
