'Suicide Squad' News Update: Jared Leto Took a Different Route to Portray The Joker

The Joker is an iconic villain, made immortal by Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight." And now that another powerhouse actor has gotten into the skin of the iconic villain, numerous stories are floating around about Jared's preparations for the portrayal.

Jared Leto, who is famous for being selective about his roles, does detailed homework to play characters on screen. Dallas Buyers Club, where he played a transgender woman and also bagged the Academy Award for best supporting actor, is testimony enough. And he has done detailed homework this time as well. But he has gone beyond and his approach has been quite distinct.

In an interview to EW, the actor said that the distinct approach was necessary in order to steer clear of the past portrayals, which was also approved by director David Ayer. The latter allowed Leto to explore and come back with his findings to begin afresh. And the actor began with by discovering the psyche of The Joker.

He said that the role was very intoxicating as it allowed him permission to move beyond the set rules and challenge his creative self. For him, the villain was an entirely different character who existed somewhere between reality and another plane.

According to reports, Leto did extensive research on The Joker, starting off by reading the comics and other related literature but after some time, he stopped. The actor says the character has been redefined many times before and every time, something new was added. And this is why; he unlearned the entire thing and began afresh.

Leto met psychiatrists, doctors and experts who had dealt with sociopaths and he also spent some time with such people. According to him the experience was sheer fun as he got to become detective and writer at the same time.

And going by the trailers that have been released, we have to say Leto has done an awesome job.