Joaquin Phoenix Says His Singing in Joker: Folie À Deux Made Lady Gaga “Spit Out Her Coffee”

We all know Lady Gaga can sing, so when I found out she was going to sing in Joker: Two-Fold Film wasn’t surprising. But what about her co-star, Joaquin Phoenix? He Also sings in the film, and unlike Gaga, he has no formal training. Furthermore, Phoenix says he was made to sing badly on purpose.

Speak with rich magazine about his character, Arthur Fleck, aka Joker, Phoenix says it was important for him to sing with “bad phrasing and occasionally bad notes.” He explains, “Arthur grew up with his mother playing these songs on the radio. He’s not a singer and he shouldn’t sound like a professional singer. He should sound like someone in the shower who just bursts into song.”

But what was it like for him to sing opposite a virtuoso singer like Lady Gaga? He jokes, “I remember her spitting out coffee the first time I sang, so that felt good, that was exciting, and it made me feel confident.”

But seriously, says Phoenix, “Gaga was always very encouraging and said, ‘Go with what you feel, that’s fine.’ For someone who’s not an artist in that way, it can be… uncomfortable to do that, but also very exciting.”

Phoenix should feel better about the fact that Gaga said she also intentionally sang badly in the film, since her character, Harley Quinn, is not a trained singer either.