American actor Joaquin Phoenix ate an apple a day to keep all the fat away as he prepared for the role of Joker in the eponymous film, as reported by ComicBook.
The 45 year old actor revealed that he had starved himself to lose 52 pounds (24 kg) of weight for the role of Arthur Fleck/Joker. The film’s director, Todd Philips had offered him the help of a nutritionist or a diet expert which Phoenix declined as he wanted to do it by himself. Philips described the actor, after the process ended, as “shell of a man.”
Philips later said that he could not recognize Phoenix during the table read of the script. The actor mentioned at the film’s premiere at the Cannes Film Festival how the drastic weight loss affected him, “You start to go mad when you lose that amount of weight in that amount of time.”
Joker told the story of a failed stand up comedian who turns into a criminal. The film was released on 4 October and met with critical acclaim with Phoenix receiving praise for his performance. It is currently the highest grossing R-rated film worldwide. However, its depiction of mental illness and violence polarized some critics.