For my money, there's no working actor today who kills it more consistently than Joaquin Phoenix.
Though a Batman-related film is not exactly the sort of story to which Phoenix typically lends his talent, his role as the Joker in director Todd Phillips upcoming Warner Bros. production makes a lot more sense the more you think about it. The Joker, after all, is one of comic book lore's most emotionally layered villains. Based on what we know about Phillips' script (co-penned by 8 Mile's Scott Silver) so far, Joker is well aware of that and is seeking to give fans a more nuanced and less hokey interpretation of the character than, say, the one we got with Suicide Squad.
Friday, just as the labor of another day on Earth was starting to really get to me, Phillips unloaded the most revealing look at Joker yet with a "camera test." However, I won't spoil it for you with unnecessary commentary. Just see for yourself:
Joker is due Oct. 4 of next year and also stars Zazie Beetz, Robert De Niro, Marc Maron, and more. Martin Scorsese is producing.
2018 has been an unusually prolific year for Phoenix, who will next appear in The Sisters Brothers alongside John C. Reilly. Phoenix's year has already included playing someone named Jesus in Mary Magdalene and the lead in Gus Van Sant's memoir-adapting Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot.
