One of the Joker’s most iconic traits is his maniacal laugh, and it proved to be one of the most challenging aspects of the character for actor Joaquin Phoenix to master in the forthcoming standalone DC movie.
At a recent post-screening Q&A for press in L.A., Phoenix and Joker director Todd Phillips recounted how the actor invited Phillips over to his house so he could try out the laugh for him. “Because I didn’t think I could do it,” Phoenix revealed.
Phillips detailed how there are actually three different, distinct Joker laughs in the film, but the one he said was the most difficult for Phoenix to find was the one Phillips came to call “the affliction laugh.” Phillips showed Phoenix videos of people who suffered from pathological laughter as a result of medical conditions like head trauma.
Source: IGN.com Joaquin Phoenix on Finding Joker’s 'Painful' Laugh