Joker writer and director Todd Phillips has revealed that the film was written for Joaquin Phoenix and no other actors were sought for the role of the classic DC comic villain.
Talking to the New York Times, Phillips dismissed rumours that Warner Bros. had approached Leonardo DiCaprio to play the Joker. “We wrote the movie for Joaquin,” Phillips said.
See what we thought of Joker in our video review below.
However, while the film had been written with Phoenix in mind, convincing him took many months of conversation. “He was not keen on jumping into costume in any comic-book movie,” Phillips said.
Source: IGN.com Joker: Joaquin Phoenix Was Only Actor Asked to Star in Title Role