Joaquin Phoenix says his favourite Joker scene was cut

(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

With the impending release of the Joker movie later this week, actor Joaquin Phoenix has revealed that his favourite scene featuring his turn as the Clown Prince of Crime didn’t make it into the finished product.

Minor spoilers for Joker follow.

Speaking to AP News, Phoenix revealed his “favourite scene, what both [himself and director Todd Phillips] thought was my best scene because of a particular take, that scene is not in the movie.”

Phoenix didn’t say what the scene in question was – perhaps we could see it on a future home release – though did clarify why it was cut: “It’s a cliche, but it’s a puzzle. So you take out this scene and it affects the following scene. So a take that might have been really great no longer works.”

Those creative choices even extended to scenes Phoenix was personally dissatisfied with, as he outlines how “The best take for the end of [Arthur’s] rant on Murray Franklin [Robert De Niro] just didn’t work. It was a really good take just on its own but cut in with everything else it just didn’t work. An earlier take, one that I didn’t think was very good, was the one that worked best.”

So, picture this: somewhere out there is a Joker movie that goes in a completely different direction and involves what Joaquin Phoenix thinks is his best scene in a movie already filled with performances that sister publication Total Film called “Oscar-worthy.” That’s just not funny.

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.