Even Suicide Squad director David Ayer was freaked out by Jared Leto’s Joker

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Much has been written about how Jared Leto went full method in order to bring the clown prince of crime to life in David Ayer's upcoming SUICIDE SQUAD, and from the cast and crew's perspective, it paid off big-time. David Ayer spoke with USA Today recently and revealed that due to Leto's performance, much of the cast and crew "kept their distance." As to whether Leto succeeded in freaking David Ayer out as well, that would be a big yes.

Big time. The hairs stand up on the back of your neck, if you're a Batman fan, you have to love/hate the Joker because he’s the best nemesis ever. Just to have him on one of my film sets, it was a very memorable thing for me.

Despite the heebie jeebies, David Ayer very much enjoyed Leto's process and did everything he could to help the actor give birth to SUICIDE SQUAD's Joker:

I love helping actors find what methodology works best for them. It’s like tailoring a suit — it’s not one size fits all. But it really made an event when he would show up on set. There was almost a pageantry to him, which did translate into the character and the power on screen he has.

As with many Joker's before him, Jared Leto's take on the character has come under scrutiny, but despite all the differences, David Ayer claims that the film has a lot of respect for who the character is as well as his entire history.

This iteration of him, people will realize there really is a continuity of history — there is a lot of respect for what the Joker represents, who he is as a character. He is the best known villain in fiction so there’s an incredible responsibility there to also be faithful to what he is but at the same time push him into this next world, next time, next phase.

Personally, I'm already a fan of how different Jared Leto's Joker is, but as with most things, we won't know how effective he'll be until we see him in action on the big-screen. Our next look at the Joker may arrive tonight during The CW's DC Films Presents: Dawn of the Justice League hosted by Kevin Smith and Geoff Johns. As well as providing a sneak peek at WONDER WOMAN and a behind-the-scenes look at BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE, the special will also debut the brand-new SUICIDE SQUAD trailer, so make sure to check back here later tonight as we'll have those goodies ready for you as soon as we can!

SUICIDE SQUAD is set to hit theaters on August 5, 2016.