‘Suicide Squad’ Star Jared Leto Shows Off His Swaggy Joker Style on New ‘Empire’ Cover
Jared Leto on the cover of ‘Empire Magazine’ (Courtesy of Empire)
In case the green hair, white makeup, and deranged smile weren’t evil-looking enough, the new cover of Empire Magazine reveals that Suicide Squad star Jared Leto will have “Joker” tattooed in giant letters across his stomach.
The British monthly’s December issue goes deep on the movie — set to hit theaters next August — about a murders’ row of DC Comics villains who team up for a mission. The full-body portrait of Leto’s Joker is the obvious main attraction. Audiences have seen glimpses of this new version of Batman’s greatest foe before; when director David Ayer (Fury) tweeted the first photo of him in April, fans were split on this seemingly punk-flavored Clown Prince of Crime.
Related: ‘Suicide Squad’ Behind the Scenes: Jared Leto Trims the Green Joker Hair
The new portrait offers a few more details: This Joker, like the cartoon version, will carry a cane. Unlike previous iterations however, Leto’s Joker looks to have a penchant for going shirtless, with only a long purple coat to keep out the Gotham City cold. It’s an extreme outfit, for sure, but it likely helped the 43-year-old Oscar winner immerse himself in the role. Reports from the set and subsequent interviews with his co-stars reveal that he was all-in during the film’s production.
“I’ve never actually met Jared Leto,” Will Smith, who plays Deadshot in the film, said in a recent radio interview. “We worked together for six months, and we’ve never exchanged a word outside of ‘action’ and 'cut.’ We’ve never said 'hello,’ we’ve never said 'good day.’ I’ve only ever spoken to him as Deadshot and him as the Joker. I literally have not met him yet.”
Leto also made headlines for giving his other co-stars an assortment of strange gifts, including a pet rat for Margot Robbie, who plays the Joker’s lunatic love Harley Quinn.
The new Empire issue has an assortment of other Suicide Squad images, including several of the Joker in a straitjacket — presumably before he’s released from his stay at Arkham Asylum. It’s a real shame to think that his tattoos were covered up for all those years during his incarceration.
Watch a video about big-screen Jokers below, featuring Leto, Heath Ledger, and Jack Nicholson:
