Intense preparations
His eerie performance recently landed Phoenix his fourth Academy Award nomination, and his much-deserved first Oscar award in the category of Best Actor. While Phoenix goes out of his way to prepare for every role, this one, by its nature, was different. Portraying the character of Arthur Fleck, a lonely man who suffers from a medical condition that causes him to laugh involuntarily and uncontrollably required plenty of preparations.
For the portrayal of the disturbed Arthur Fleck, Phoenix had to go on an intense diet, losing 52 pounds. In a weird way, Phoenix shared in an interview that reaching his incredibly low target weight made him feel empowered, energized and excited. This reminds us of the time Christian Bale lost weight to a dangerous point for his role in The Machinist, and when Matthew McConaughey joined the club, losing weight for Dallas Buyers Club.