Joaquin Phoenix studied victims of PLC to craft his take on the Joker laugh

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Everyone knows that some actors like to get inside the heads of their characters. Unfortunately, it's a method that can often yield disastrous and even deadly results. One tragic example of this phenomenon is the case of the late actor Heath Ledger, who poured himself into the role of the Joker so completely for director Christopher Nolan's THE DARK NIGHT that it consumed him. In the weeks following Ledger's death, it became known that he found it difficult to escape the Joker's mindset, which as we all know is a dark and destructive place.

With Todd Phillips' JOKER soon to hit theaters this October 4, one has to wonder if the film's star, Joaquin Phoenix, has engaged in any extreme measures to play the part. As it happens, while recently participating in an interview with Italian magazine Il Vernerdi, Phoenix revealed that he'd studied victims of PLC (Pathological Laughter or Crying) to arrive at his take on the Joker's iconic laugh.

“I saw videos showing people suffering from pathological laughter, a mental illness that makes mimicry uncontrollable,” Phoenix explained. Sadly, PLC is no joke. The disease causes involuntary laughter or crying, sometimes with no immediate trigger. If Phoenix is using those suffering from PLC as a springboard for his take on Joker's grotesque giggles and sinister shrieks, we could be in for a very different take on the iconic cackle when Phillips' JOKER arrives.

For JOKER, Phoenix's Arthur Fleck is framed as a failed comedian who repeatedly encounters violent thugs while wandering the streets of Gotham City dressed as a clown. Disregarded by society, Fleck begins a slow dissent into madness as he transforms into the criminal mastermind known as the Joker.

Starring alongside Phoenix in Phillips' JOKER are Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Marc Maron, Brian Tyree Henry, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, and Douglas Hodge, among others.

Previously hailed by co-head and artistic director of the Toronto International Film Festival Cameron Bailey as a "cinematic achievement on a high level," JOKER sounds as if it has the potential to change the way people look at superhero movies. With its art house film style, serious tone, and plot being kept mostly under wraps, it could be that we're in for a deeply emotional ride when JOKER takes the stage this October.