Ridley Scott Was Blown Away by Joaquin Phoenix in JOKER, but He Didn't Care for the Violence

Whether you like director Todd Phillips’ Joker or not, you can’t deny that Joaquin Phoenix delivered an incredible performance. Phoenix was awesome in the movie, and during a recent interview with Ridley Scott, he was asked what he thought about the movie.

While he criticized the movie for the way it celebrated violence, he loved Phoenix’s performance in the film. He told Deadline:

“I was blown away by his outrageous film Joker. I didn’t like the way it celebrated violence, but Joaquin was remarkable.”

He continued talking about why he cast Pheonix in Napoleon, saying: “I thought he’d be an amazing asset to Napoleon, [not only creatively], also in a commercial sense. There were only two actors I had in mind for the role. I won’t mention the other one.” He added: “I’m staring at Joaquin and saying, ‘This little demon is Napoleon Bonaparte.’ He looks like him.”

I’d be curious to know who the other actor was in case Phoenix didn’t end up taking the role.

As for Scott’s opinion on the violence of the film, maybe he didn’t care for the way the film made audiences sympathize with such an evil and violent character and how through a series of unfortunate tragic events, he’s motivated to unleash his terror and violence against the world. Because Scott doesn’t have an issue with the violence he puts in his films. What do you think?