According to the source, which cites a quote from Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, aka Killer Croc in the movie, Leto wreaked havoc on the set as he attempted to get into full character throughout filming. The Joker, as recently evidenced by the late Heath Ledger’s brilliant performance in The Dark Knight, is not exactly a politically-correct character that respects others and refrains from crossing lines. As Leto pointed out at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Joker is terrifying, disturbed, and clearly exhibits psychopathic tendencies. Leto, apparently, did his best to channel that mentality, even off screen.
Reportedly, that manifested itself in Leto sending all of his co-stars “gifts,” including a live rat, dead hog, used condoms, and anal beads; and even causing director David Ayer to hire a therapist on set, though it’s unclear whether said therapist was for Leto or the rest of the crew after having to deal with him. Akinnuoye-Agbaje says he personally received a “sticky Playboy magazine” from the actor.
Of course this could all be a clever way to drum up publicity – what better way to have Leto’s interpretation of the Joker be as believable as possible than to have him, quite literally, act insane? After all, while Leto is an accomplished character actor in his own right, he has big shoes to fill following Ledger’s amazing performance. Ledger reportedly even locked himself in a hotel room for a month to help prepare for the role. That said, Suicide Squad has been the source of a long list of interesting tales, and seeing Leto’s performance thus far, it’s hard not to at least consider that he did, in fact, go full Joker.
Based on the team of antiheroes from DC Comics, Suicide Squad is set for release in theaters on August 5. In addition to Leto, the film stars Margot Robbie, who plays Dr. Harleen F. Quinzel/Harley Quinn; Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman; Cara Delevingne as June Moone/Enchantress; Will Smith as Floyd Lawton/Deadshot; Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag; Adam Breach as Christopher Weiss/Slipknot; and Common as Monster T.
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