Some actors really get into their roles. Like really into their roles. According to Suicide Squad co-star Scott Eastwood, Jared Leto is one of those people. Eastwood was so impressed with the Joker on set, he was afraid to go up to him during the filming, because he knew Jared Leto, but didn't recognize him.
We’ve heard that Jared Leto’s Joker is a bit... extreme. Eastwood backs that up to be sure. According to a story on E!, Eastwood’s fear in approaching Leto stemmed from the fact that he was afraid he would throw off the actor’s performance. Eastwood speaks of Leto and the Joker as two separate people, and seemed to be afraid that if he went up and started talking to Jared, somebody he had already met, that it might have a negative impact on the Joker.
Wow. It’s one thing to get into character, but it’s quite another to project that character so completely that the other actors are afraid they’ll throw you off if they treat you like yourself. Leto has disappeared into roles before, but it really does seem like this one is something special for him. Whatever Leto does will be compared to the last time we saw the Joker on film. From everything we have seen, though, it looks like he’s taking on the challenge. Initial response to Leto from fans was... mixed. But Heath Ledger got a lot of the same flak, so we're not making any judgments.
Scott Eastwood speaks of his fear of approaching Leto in the past tense. This could mean one of two things. Either he eventually got over his fear and now doesn’t have a problem talking to Leto, or, more likely, he’s finished filming scenes with Leto (or all his scenes in the movie). Eastwood, was originally rumored to be playing the role of Steve Trevor, primary love interest for Wonder Woman. Those rumors have recently proven to be untrue, and Eastwood’s role is currently unknown.
Since we don’t know anything about the movie’s plot the fact that Eastwood was on set with Leto at all doesn’t really tell us anything conclusive about his role. Some photos have been leaked showing Eastwood in military fatigues but that’s all we have to go on. There’s really nothing that distinguishes him anybody specific from the DC Universe (if in fact he’s playing anybody from the DC Universe at all).
Whether you’re excited or terrified to see this new Joker, it’s clear that everybody is curious. We’ll have a chance to see just what kind of Joker Leto is, and exactly who Eastwood is playing, when the film comes out next year.
