Lady Gaga was in for quite a shock when she heard Joaquin Phoenix sing — and he was equally as surprised by her reaction.
“I do seem to remember her spitting up coffee the first time I sang, so that felt good, that was exciting, and made me feel confident,” Phoenix, 49, told Empire magazine in an interview published on Friday, July 26.
Phoenix praised Gaga, 38, for cheering him on along the way. “Gaga was always very encouraging of just, ‘Go with what you feel, it’s fine,’” he recalled. “For somebody who’s not a performer in that way, it can be … uncomfortable to do that, but also very exciting.”
Phoenix and Gaga are set to star in Joker: Folie à Deux as Joker and Harley Quinn, respectively. The ensemble cast includes Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener and Zazie Beetz, with the film set to hit theaters on October 4.
Per Variety, Folie à Deux will be a “jukebox musical,” featuring at least 15 “very well-known” tunes and some original songs. While details of who wrote or sang the tracks remain under wraps, insiders told the outlet that Oscar-winning composer of the first Joker, Hildur Guðnadóttir, is said to “infuse her distinctive, haunting [music] cues” into each one.
Ahead of the film’s release, casting director Francine Maisler revealed that Gaga wasn’t her first choice for Quinn. The idea for the “Poker Face” singer to take on the role was thanks to the film’s director, Todd Phillips.
“She’s so good in it, you guys. She’s going to blow your mind. I didn’t suggest Lady Gaga,” Maisler said during a panel at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic earlier this month. “It wasn’t my idea. That was Todd Phillips, before me. But I will tell you, she’s really surprising — and really good. I saw it and I was really surprised.”
Maisler noted that Gaga’s acting skills were apparent in A Star Is Born, when she starred opposite Bradley Cooper in the 2018 remake.
“I mean, we all knew what she could do in A Star Is Born, but I thought, ‘Oh, well, that’s kind of in her wheelhouse,’” Maisler said. “Something she could do and just be real. But this … man, she’s good.”
Maisler gushed that Phoenix “blows your mind” in the film, while Gaga is guaranteed to match his chops.
Joker: Folie à Deux hit theaters on October 4.
