Co-stars Joaquin Phoenix and Robert De Niro had disagreements about script readings, says Joker director Todd Phillips. Warner Bros. and DC’s latest project is almost here and the filmmakers behind the film are busy doing the press rounds for the movie. And during one of the recent interviews with its helmer, he revealed that two of his most prominent actors had clashed on the set about whether or not to do read-throughs.

Joker is set in the late ’70s and early ’80s. Phoenix stars as the titular character, who by then was simply known as Arthur Fleck - a failed comedian. Meanwhile, De Niro portrays the role of Murray Franklin - a talk show host who Fleck idolizes. He, however, plays a pivotal role in the character’s spiral to madness. With their characters having contentious relationship on the big screen, the actors apparently also had a small disagreement during Joker’s production as they have contrasting process to get ready for their respective jobs.

Speaking with Vanity Fair in light of Phoenix gracing this month’s cover of the magazine for Joker, Phillips reveals a minor clash between his title actor and his co-star. It turns out, De Niro wanted the cast to go through a script reading, but Phoenix refused to do so. “Bob called me and he goes, ‘Tell him he’s an actor and he’s got to be there, I like to hear the whole movie, and we’re going to all get in a room and just read it.’ And I’m in between a rock and a hard place because Joaquin’s like, ‘There’s no f***ing way I’m doing a read-through,’ and Bob’s like, ‘I do read-throughs before we shoot, that’s what we do,’” the director recalls. Phoenix refused to participate in the said read through, but he eventually showed up. It was clear, however, that he was unhappy to be there, let alone go through the script with his co-stars. Phillips said that he “mumbled his way through the script and afterward went into a corner to smoke.” After they wrapped up, the veteran actor called his younger co-star to talk to him privately but he again declined. As the director described the situation, “[Joaquin is] in front of Bob, and he goes, ‘I can’t, I gotta go home, because he felt sick after that read-through, he didn’t like it.” 

Providing some context with regard to his working relationship with De Niro on Joker, Phoenix said that he “didn’t like to talk to him on set,” saying: “the first day we said good morning, and beyond that I don’t know that we talked much.” De Niro somehow echoed the same sentiments, saying that since their characters didn’t have a particularly warm relationship, there’s really no need for them to talk. “His character and my character, we didn’t need to talk about anything. We just say, ‘Do the work. Relate as the characters to each other.’ It makes it simpler and we don’t [talk]. There’s no reason to,” he explained. The actors eventually patched things up, with Phoenix admitting that De Niro is his favorite American actor, and now, all is well with the pair.

Minor incidents like this almost always aren’t a big deal. From what it sounds like, Phoenix and De Niro’s disagreement was rooted on their different approaches when it comes to playing their roles. While they didn’t mingle on set, that doesn’t mean that there’s bad blood between them. As they both noted, their characters aren’t friendly, so they didn’t have to establish that rapport to be able to effectively play them on screen. If anything, their separation may have even helped them properly convey what seems like a antagonistic relationship between Fleck and Franklin on the big screen. Fortunately, fans won’t have to wait long to find out with Joker set to release tomorrow.

More: Everything That’s Gone Wrong On Joker’s Press Tour

Source: Vanity Fair

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