How Joaquin Phoenix's extreme weight loss for 'Joker' led him to a 'disorder'

Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal of the iconic DC character Joker was appreciated worldwide. Longtime fans of the character were concerned about a standalone Joker film without the inclusion of Batman and giving him an origin story that was not done in the original comic book. However, after the film was officially released around the world, fans were taken aback by surprise on how Phoenix morphed himself into the character of Joker which earned him an Oscar win. However, one talking point of the film was also how Joaquin lost a substantial amount of weight to fit the bill of the character. 

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Joaquin has infamously lost 52 pounds for the role of Joker which was deemed to be both brave and dangerous by many of his fans. But, Phoenix has also garnered the reputation of being a method actor and standing true to his public image, went full in to study the character and make it his own. However, it does come with a cost as the actor had to go through some psychological changes too, as revealed by Joaquin himself. 

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Joquin's extreme weight loss led to a 'disorder'

The portrayal of Joaquin Phoenix as Joker was loved worldwide but it came with a cost for the actor. Joaquin had sat down for an interview with People where he revealed that losing that much weight in a controlled amount of time impacts the psychology of a person. Phoenix expressed that a person starts to go 'mad'. The actor had also expressed that the extreme weight loss may have given him a certain disorder where he became obsessive over food and weight. The actor also expressed that he would withdraw from social events and feeling fatigued to climb up the stairs. 

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Pheonix had signed on to the project in July 2018, and the filming was scheduled to be done in September 2018 itself, giving the actor only a few months to lose 52 pounds. The ideal timeline to reduce that amount of weight comes down nearly to a year. This led to the actor being under strict medical supervision. However, Joaquin has maintained his silence about the process of how he lost the weight so quickly. 

Also read: Joaquin Phoenix's Joker to be played by Jim Carrey next in Warner Bros sequels?