Jared Leto Explains Why He Abused His ‘Suicide Squad’ Cast Members For Joker Role


Jared Leto’s bizarre and rather abrasive antics on the set of Suicide Squad have already become the stuff of legend. Not only was he constantly in character while shooting, but he sent rats, a dead pig, and even a used condom to his co-stars to make them feel intimidated of his character.

Jared Leto has finally opened up about why he felt the need to go to such extremes in order to do the character of the Joker justice, revealing that he believed it was the only way that he could actually match the previous incarnations from television and film that have made the villain so iconic.

Speaking as part of a new Suicide Squad behind-the-scenes clip, which debuted over at Collider, Jared Leto admitted that he actually revelled in going to such extreme measures, and that it provoked him to go to places and depths that he’d never been to before.

[Image by Warner Bros]

“This role has always been interpreted so beautifully, but then there’s the other side: What else can you uncover? What other parts of this story or this life, what can you do that hasn’t been done? That side of me that likes exploration, that likes adventure, that likes to push the envelope, that was set on fire immediately,” Jared Leto admitted. “I knew that I was going to have to dive really deep and go to a place that I’ve never gone before.”

It’s fair to say that Jared Leto managed to do just that. That’s because the cast and crew have previously waxed lyrical about just how focused and intent the Academy Award winning actor was about staying in character when he was on the set of Suicide Squad.

In fact, because Jared Leto remained in character throughout his time filming Suicide Squad Will Smith, who played Deadshot in the blockbuster, revealed that he’s never actually met the real Leto, who instead just paraded around the set acting like the Joker for the entire time.

Will Smith told Apple Beats 1 Radio station back in October,”[Suicide Squad] is insane. I’ve never actually met Jared Leto. We worked together for six months and we’ve never exchanged a word outside of ‘Action!’ and ‘Cut!’ We’ve never said ‘Hello’ or ‘Good day.’ I’ve only ever spoken to him with me as Deadshot and him as The Joker. I literally have not met him yet. So, the first time I see him will be, ‘Hey Jared. What’s up?’ Not a single word exchanged off-camera. He was all in on the Joker.”

But it goes way beyond a simple bout of method acting. That’s because the cast and crew of Suicide Squad also revealed that Jared Leto sent a variety of rather awful and disturbing gifts to them as the Joker so that he could build up animosity between them that would transfer to the screen.

[Image by Warner Bros]

This included sending a live rat in a black box to Margot Robbie, which was actually meant to be a romantic gesture as her character of Harley Quinn is the Joker’s love interest in Suicide Squad. Meanwhile, Jared Leto also sent bullets to Will Smith with a letter. Plus, because he wasn’t present on set from the very first day he made sure his presence was felt by sending the whole cast the carcass of a dead pig with a video message. But Jared Leto’s most disturbing present to his fellow cast-members came when he sent a lucky few some anal beads and a used condom.

Jared Leto was provoked to go to such measure thanks to Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, and Heath Ledger’s performances as the Joker, with the latter even winning the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his efforts in The Dark Knight.

[Featured Image by Warner Bros.]

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