In bringing back to the big screen one of the most iconic comic book villains, actor Jared Leto subjected himself to an intense preparation to be able to give justice to The Joker in the highly anticipated "Suicide Squad" movie.
The award-winning actor has revealed to Entertainment Weekly that he started with "reading as much as I could" to educate himself with everything about the Clown Prince of Crime in getting ready to go full-Joker mode in "Suicide Squad."
Then, there was "physical conditioning." His "Suicide Squad" castmates can testify how committed Leto was in playing Joker, which he did both on and off camera. He even sent strange gifts to them, as part of his Joker "transformative" process in "Suicide Squad."
But in order to embody Joker's love for violence and murder in "Suicide Squad," here's the extent to which Leto went: "I did meet with people that were experts, doctors, psychiatrists that dealt with psychopaths and people who had committed horrendous crimes," he revealed.
"And then I spent some time with those people themselves, people who have been institutionalized for great periods of time," Leto continued, adding that it was "really fun" having to play part-detective, part-writer in building his Joker character for "Suicide Squad."
On the other hand, Leto also acknowledged the pressure playing the character since Joker has been on the big screen before, with previous actors earning praises for their renderings. The late Heath Ledger's portrayal in "Dark Knight Returns" remains the most iconic.
However, Leto decided that in order to nail his Joker performance in "Suicide Squad," he had to "throw everything away and start from the beginning and really build this from the ground up."
As far as Joker's look in "Suicide Squad," Leto said that director David Ayer was very specific with the tattoos on Joker. Indeed, the body art on the serial killer's body was one of the most notable things about him, apart from his craziness.
Fans will see Leto as Joker in "Suicide Squad" on August 5.
