Ridley Scott cast Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon because of 'Joker' (original) (raw)
Ridley Scott credits Joker for his casting of 'little demon' Joaquin Phoenix in Napoleon
"I'm staring at Joaquin and saying, 'This little demon is Napoleon Bonaparte.'"
"What do the Joker and Napoleon Bonaparte have in common?" Ask Ridley Scott.
Scott told Empire that seeing Joaquin Phoenix in Todd Phillips' Joker — a role that landed Phoenix his first Best Actor Oscar — convinced him to cast Phoenix as the lead in his upcoming Napoleon. "I'm staring at Joaquin and saying, 'This little demon is Napoleon Bonaparte,'" Scott told the magazine. "He looks like him."
Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker. DC Comics/Warner Bros./Shutterstock
Scott expanded on the kind of person Napoleon was and what he was looking for in the role. "I compare him with Alexander the Great. Adolf Hitler. Stalin. Listen, he's got a lot of bad shit under his belt. At the same time, he was remarkable with his courage, and in his can-do, and in his dominance. He was extraordinary."
Phoenix, for his part, was excited to work with the decorated director again following an earlier role in Scott's Gladiator. "The truth is, there was just a very nostalgic idea of working with Ridley again," he said. "He's approached me about other things in the past, but nothing that felt like it would be as demanding for both of us. And so I really liked the idea of jumping into something with Ridley that was going to be that."
Phoenix added that the movie offers a unique look at the ruthless French Emperor. "If you want to really understand Napoleon, then you should probably do your own studying and reading," Phoenix said. "Because if you see this film, it's this experience told through Ridley's eyes. It's just such a complex world. I mean, it's so fucking complex. What we were after was something that would capture the feeling of this man."
Napoleon will march into theaters on Nov. 22. Next year, Phoenix will reprise his role as Arthur Fleck in the _Joke_r sequel, Folie à Deux.
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