Joaquin Phoenix has opened up about how impressed Lady Gaga was when she heard him sing, recalling how she spat out her coffee.
The pair are set to star in the upcoming new Joker film, Joker: Folie à Deux, which is released this October.
Phoenix will resume his complex portrayal of the iconic titular DC villain, a role that earned him the Oscar for Best Actor for the first film.
Gaga, meanwhile, will play Harley Quinn, Arthur Fleck/Joker’s lover and sidekick in the film.
In a new interview with Empire, Phoenix said that when he first sang for Gaga, she not only enjoyed his singing, but also encouraged him too.
“I do seem to remember her spitting up coffee… so that felt good, that was exciting, and made me feel confident,” Phoenix shared.
“Gaga was always very encouraging of just, ‘go with what you feel, it’s fine,’ ” Phoenix continued. “For somebody who’s not a performer in that way, it can be… uncomfortable to do that, but also very exciting.”
The trailer for the film was shared last week (July 23) and gave fans a first glimpse of the new film, which is said to be a musical in part.
[embed]https://youtube.com/watch?v=_OKAwz2MsJs&feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1[/embed]
Recently, the film’s casting director said Lady Gaga’s performance as Harley Quinn will “blow your mind”.
Speaking at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic, Maisley said (via Deadline): “She’s so good in it, you guys. She’s going to blow your mind.”
“I didn’t suggest Lady Gaga. It wasn’t my idea. That was Todd Phillips, before me,” she added, referring to the film’s director. “But I will tell you, she’s really surprising — and really good. I saw it and I was really surprised.”
“I mean, we all knew what she could do in A Star is Born, but I thought, ‘Oh, well, that’s kind of in her wheelhouse.’ Something she could do and just be real. But this… Man, she’s good. Joaquin blows your mind, but that she could keep up with him, and be real — and not just wiped off the screen by what that role is and what the performance is — shows she’s good.”
Fans of Lady Gaga were so impressed after the release of the trailer that they were also declaring it looked “Oscar worthy” now.
The film, which will be released on October 4 – the fifth anniversary of the first film – has been described as “mostly a jukebox musical” by sources familiar with the project. It is thought it will include at least 15 “very well-known” songs, with one being named as ‘That’s Entertainment’, known for the 1953 Judy Garland music The Band Wagon.
The film is also set to star Steve Coogan, Atlanta’s Zazie Beetz, as well as Catherine Keener (Being John Malkovich) and Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin).
Last September, Hildur Guðnadóttir – who worked as the composer of the first film’s score and returns for the sequel – also teased that the sequel will feature “a lot of music”. “That’s all I can give away,” she added.
Gaga previously shared a preview of herself in the iconic role in April last year, as filming came to a close. “That’s a wrap X Harleen,” the singer and actor wrote on Instagram, alongside a photo of her in a black dress and smudged black eye make-up.
She has also said that the music she is currently working on explores the “art of intensity” and is “nothing like anything I’ve ever made before”.
The post Joaquin Phoenix recalls how Lady Gaga spat out her coffee when she heard him sing appeared first on NME.