Hollywood actor Joaquin Phoenix has admitted that staying in shape for the film was tough while preparing for the Joker sequel.
Speaking at a press conference for Joker: For Do, Phoenix reflected on his controversial diet, saying it was harder to maintain the second time around.
“I don't want to go into the details of my diet because I don't think anybody wants to hear about it, but this time it felt a little more complicated because there was a lot of dance rehearsals that we didn't have last time,” Phoenix said at the Venice Film Festival. Variety.
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Joaquin Phoenix, 49, revealed at the Venice Film Festival that dieting for the upcoming sequel, Joker: For Do, was “tough.” (Getty Images)
“So it was a little bit difficult, but it's safe. Like you said, I'm 49 and I probably shouldn't do it again. This is probably my last time.”
Phoenix revealed in 2019 that he lost over 50 pounds to play the DC Comics villain Arthur Fleck, and opened up about his diet regime.
“I'd better never do this again. This may be my last time.”
He went on to praise how his co-star Lady Gaga, who was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, transformed her appearance for the film.
“You've lost a lot of weight, Stephanie. When I first met you at rehearsals, you were gone… and when you came back you'd lost a lot of weight. It was really impressive.”
Joaquin Phoenix has praised his co-star Lady Gaga for her “incredible” weight loss. (Getty Images)
The pop star responded: “I think we all took the time to transform into our characters and keep honing in on all the details.”
Phoenix couldn't recall how much weight he lost for the sequel, but explained why the transformation was difficult to talk about.
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“I know it's my responsibility to talk about this last time, but it's hard to do. I've been working so hard to get to a certain weight that it becomes an obsession,” Phoenix said.
“So when I end up talking about it, it sounds like an actor going on and on about how much weight he lost. And by the end of that show, I was so fed up and angry with myself for making such a big fuss about the role, because you just do what you have to do. So this time, I was like, 'I'm not doing that.'”
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(LR) Todd Phillips, Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix attend the Joker: Folie à Deux red carpet at the 81st Venice International Film Festival. (Getty Images)
The actor then joked about how much weight he'd lost.
“It was 47 pounds,” he said, before adding, “No, I'm kidding. I have no idea.”
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Joaquin Phoenix will reprise his role as “The Joker” in the film's sequel. (AP Image)
In 2019, Phoenix revealed how he completely transformed his physique to play the Joker in the Todd Phillips film.
“It wasn't an apple a day. I was also eating lettuce and steamed green beans,” he joked in an interview with Access Hollywood at the time.
The Golden Globe winner also said she made sure to lose weight in a safe and manageable way.
“This is something I've done before, and I work with disciplined, supervised and safe doctors,” he explained.
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But Phoenix said Phillips hasn't given him any leeway on his extremely strict diet.
“Todd had pretzels, which I loved, and he had bags full of them in his office. That made it difficult.”
