Joaquin Phoenix reveals why it was hard to lose weight for 'Joker: Folie à Deux'

Joaquin Phoenix is opening up on returning to dieting for his role in the Joker sequel Joker: Folie à Deux.

The actor famously lost 52 pounds for the original Joker film to achieve the gaunt look of the character.

Now, he admits he returned to dieting for the sequel, noting that it was more complicated this time due to all the dance rehearsals they had to do.

After the backlash he faced over his diet last time, he avoided delving too deep into the topic at the Venice Film Festival.

He told the press: “I’m not going to talk through specifics of the diet, because I just think nobody wants to hear that. But this time, it felt a bit more complicated just because there was so much dance rehearsal that we were doing, which I didn’t have last time.”

“So it felt a bit more difficult, but it is safe. But you’re right, I’m now 49, I probably shouldn’t do this again. This is probably it for me,” he added.

He then tried to include his co-star Lady Gaga into the conversation, saying: “Stefani also lost a lot of weight. I remember when I first met you in rehearsals and then you went away and when you came back, you lost a lot of weight. It was really impressive.”

But the Poker Face hitmaker dodged the topic with a short comment: “I think we transformed into our characters over a period of time and we continued to hone in every kind of detail.”

When asked how many pounds he lost this time, Phoenix said he didn’t exactly remember and then lamented his idea to ever talk about his physical transformation in the first place

Phoenix then reflected on the backlash he received after revealing his diet for Joker in 2020: “I know I was responsible last time for talking about it, but it’s difficult to do so that becomes your obsession because you’re working the entire time to get to a certain weight.”

He added: “So then you end up talking about it, and then it just sounds like an actor going on and on about how much weight they lost. By the end of that run I was so sick of myself and angry at myself for making such a big deal about that part, because you just do what you’re fucking supposed to do. So this time I was like, ‘I’m not going to do that.'”

The Napoleon star then jokingly whispered into the mic, saying, “It was 47 pounds,” before adding, “No, I’m joking. I don’t know.”

Joker: Folie à Deux stars Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role alongside Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn.