Why Joker’s Joaquin Phoenix stormed off the set on day one of shooting

Joker cinematographer Lawrence Sher unexpectedly found himself at the centre of a viral video storm last week.

We never see him in the video, which aired during Jimmy Kimmel Live! when actor Joaquin Phoenix appeared to promote Joker. But we hear about him. In the video, Phoenix is yelling at “Larry”, who is off camera, telling him to “shut up” with the “constant whispering”.

Sher is that Larry, he told Business Insider. He explained the outtake originated as a prank on the movie’s director Todd Phillips, who Sher has collaborated with on all of his films since 2009's The Hangover (Joker is their sixth film together). But the joke didn't land on set.

Phoenix is “such a good actor that nobody even got it on set”, Sher said. “He played it too straight.”

But the movie certainly landed when it hit theatres this weekend.

Joker broke the October opening weekend box-office record in the US, surpassing Venom with US$96 million in domestic takings – and a further US$151 million from international cinemas. But the R-rated drama, which is an origin story of the popular Batman foe, has faced controversy for its graphic violence since its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, in which it won the festival's top prize, the Golden Lion.

Sher said that it was a “breath of fresh air” to work on Joker and that he was “on board 100 per cent” from the start.

“I knew based on the script and the material that this was an opportunity I wanted to do,” he said during an interview on Monday, October 7. “We knew we had an opportunity to do a character piece and the nature of the structure allowed us to put more emphasis on 'art' than we've done before. With comedy, you do your best to make a funny scene. With Joker, there were opportunities to be more artful in composition and lighting. If we did that for The Hangover, it would take you out of the movie.”

Sher talked about what Phoenix was really like on the set, the controversy surrounding the movie's graphic violence, and whether any comic books inspired the filmmaking process.

What Joaquin Phoenix was like on set

Sher said Phoenix is a “super playful guy, and loose,” hence the prank on Phillips. But on set, Phoenix was zeroed in on his character, Arthur, who ultimately becomes the villainous Joker.