‘I don’t even like to think about money’ – Joaquin Phoenix talks Raging Bull, remembering brother River and following Heath Ledger as the Joker
Joaquin Phoenix is only the living star to claim an Oscar for best actor for a superhero movie – following an earlier posthumous win for Heath Ledger’s role in The Dark Knight
Widely heralded as a modern masterpiece, Heath Ledger’s bravura turn as the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight remains the only comic book character to have won an individual award on film’s biggest awards night – despite it being an achievement mired in tragedy, after Ledger’s untimely death.
Even if comic book characters have come to dominate the blockbuster scene in Hollywood, the huge box-office takings generated by the Avengers franchise have not attracted equal success come awards season.
This makes the early rave reactions to Todd Phillips’ Joker , starring Joaquin Phoenix as the eponymous “Clown Prince of Crime”, even more intriguing.
“Taking on this character and being part of this film … is a magnified version of what you have to do in acting in general,” Phoenix, 44, explains.
“When you get a script, you discuss it with the screenwriter, who is usually the director. They have their expectations of the character, and they have been imagining things in their minds for several years, imagining different actors in the role.
“And, suddenly, you accept the role and you experience this moment of anxiety where you ask yourself: ‘Will I be able to live up to their expectations?’
“But you can’t consider who they wanted before you or what their vision of the movie was six months ago, it’s about now. And at some point, you just have to make it your own and find your own way.”
There’s no doubt that Phoenix was an inspired choice for the part, not least due to his reputation as one of the industry’s most ambiguous talents.