Knives Out Actor Lakeith Stanfield Wants to Play 'Black Joker': 'Wait Till They See Me Do It'
Lakeith Stanfield still wants his shot at offering his own take on Batman’s most famous foe.
The Knives Out and Get Out actor, who is currently promoting the romantic comedy The Photograph, expressed how much he wants the role in an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live! recently.
“I would love to play the Joker. That’d be beautiful,” he told host Jimmy Kimmel, adding that Joaquin Phoenix‘s recent success in Joker makes him want the role even more. “That makes me go, ‘Wait till they see me do it.’”
It’s not the first time he’s talked about it. Stanfield, 28, also brought the idea up to Deadline in 2018.
“I want people to dress up as me as black Joker, when that inevitably happens,” the actor said. “I just think there are so many things that haven’t been touched yet in terms of how the performance can be delivered, when I make the movie myself. I make my own Joker movies at home with my own personal camera. All you gotta do is just dress up and make your own.”
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And when Collider asked him about it again, Stanfield brought up who he’d want to collaborate on the project with — Good Time and Uncut Gems directors Josh and Benny Safdie.
“What I’d bring to it would have a lot to do with who I collaborate with, and how the story’s written and what world we exist in, and then I’ll go do my lil magic,” he said. “Wouldn’t it be crazy if me and the Safdies did something like that?”
Last year, the actor even attended the premiere of the film dressed up as the character.
Joker recently became the first R-rated superhero movie to cross the $1 billion mark worldwide, bringing in huge success at the box office. The movie is also critically acclaimed and leads the 2020 Oscar nominee list with 11 total nominations.
Phoenix, who plays the mentally ill character during a re-imagined origin story, is the clear frontrunner to take home the Best Actor Oscar after picking up all other major awards on the way to the big night.
The Photograph opens Feb. 14.
