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Joaquin Phoenix Nominated For Best Actor At The Golden Globes

Joaquin Phoenix Nominated For Best Actor At The Golden Globes

Joaquin Phoenix's performance in Joker has been praised by fans and critics

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

Joaquin Phoenix has been nominated for best actor at the Golden Globes for his role in Joker.

And it's hardly surprising, considering fans and critics have been falling over themselves with praise for his performance since the movie hit cinemas earlier this year.

That and the fact it absolutely smashed it at the box office, raking in more than $1 billion worldwide - a feat made even more impressive when you take into account that it only cost $62.5m to make.

The film follows failed clown and comic Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) as he spirals into a life of psychopathic crime after society rejects him - in turn transforming into the Joker to wreak havoc on Gotham City.

As well as Phoenix, the origin story also stars Robert De Niro, as well as Deadpool 2's Zazie Beetz who plays Arthur's unrequited 'love interest'.

Speaking to Empire about the movie, Phillips explained how Phoenix had always been the man for the role.

Fans and critics have been blown away by Phoenix's performance in Joker.
Warner Bros.

"I think he's the greatest actor," he said.

"We had a photo of him above our computer while we were writing. We constantly thought, 'God, imagine if Joaquin actually does this'."

Phillips continued: "We just wrote our own version of where a guy like Joker might come from. That's what was interesting to me. We're not even doing Joker, but the story of becoming Joker. It's about this man.

"We didn't follow anything from the comic books, which people are gonna be mad about."

And once on board, the actor went to extreme lengths to make sure he did justice to the part - reportedly shedding an enormous 52lbs.

Speaking to the ReelBlend podcast, the 44-year-old said: "It just seemed like it would be easier.

"The very first bit of research that I did was about medication and the side effects of medication and everybody on these boards was talking about these dramatic changes in their weight.

Director Todd Phillips has said he would be up for a sequel.
PA

"Whether it be putting on weight or losing weight. There's something so f***ing tragic about taking a medication because you feel out of step with the world, and then you have these side effects that magnify that feeling."

Following the movie's success, Phillips has since said he would be up for making a sequel, if the opportunity arose.

But he assured fans that if they were to make one, it wouldn't be anything like Jack Nicholson's camp portrayal in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film.

In an interview with LA Times, Phillips said: "It couldn't just be this wild and crazy movie about the Clown Prince of Crime.

"It would have to have some thematic resonance in a similar way that Joker does. Because I think that's ultimately why the movie connected, it's what's going on underneath.

"So many movies are about the spark and this is about the powder. If you could capture that again in a real way, that would be interesting."

The full list of nominations for the Golden Globes are;

BEST MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
"1917"
"The Irishman"
"Joker"
"Marriage Story"
"The Two Popes"

BEST MOTION PICTURE - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
"Dolemite is My Name"
"Jojo Rabbit"
"Knives Out"
"Once Upon a Time in Hollywood"
"Rocketman"

BEST DIRECTOR
Bong Joon Ho, "Parasite"
Sam Mendes, "1917"
Quentin Tarantino, "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood"
Martin Scorsese, "The Irishman"
Todd Phillips, "Joker"

BEST ACTOR - DRAMA
Christian Bale, "Ford v. Ferrari"
Antonio Banderas, "Pain and Glory"
Adam Driver, "Marriage Story"
Joaquin Phoenix, "Joker"
Jonathan Pryce, "The Two Popes"

BEST ACTRESS - DRAMA
Cynthio Erivo, "Harriet"
Scarlett Johansson, "Marriage Story"
Soairse Ronana, "Little Women"
Charlize Theron, "Bombshell"
Renee Zellweger, "Judy"

BEST ACTOR - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Daniel Craig ("Knives Out")
Roman Griffin Davis ("Jojo Rabbit")
Leonardo DiCaprio ("Once Upon a Time in Hollywood")
Taron Egerton ("Rocketman")
Eddie Murphy ("Dolemite Is My Name")

BEST ACTRESS - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Awkwafina, "The Farewell"
Ana de Armas, "Knives Out"
Beanie Feldstein, "Booksmart"
Emma Thompson, "Late Night"
Cate Blanchett, "Where'd You Go Bernadette"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOTON PICTURE
Tom Hanks, "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood"
Al Pacino, "The Irishman"
Joe Pesci, "The Irishman"
Brad Pitt, "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood"
Anthony Hopkins, "The Two Popes"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOTON PICTURE
Annette Benning, "The Report"
Margot Robbie, "Bombshell"
Jennifer Lopez, "Hustlers"
Kathy Bates, "Richard Jewell"
Laura Dern, "Marriage Story"

BEST SCREENPLAY
"Marriage Story"
"Parasite"
"The Two Popes"
"Once Upon A Time In Hollywood"
"The Irishman"

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
"Motherless Brooklyn"
"Little Women"
"Joker"
"1917"
"Marriage Story"

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Beautiful Ghosts" - CATS
"I'm Gonna Love Me Again" - Rocketman
"Into the Unknown" - Frozen 2
"Spirit" - The Lion King
"Stand Up" - Harriet

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
"Frozen 2"
"The Lion King"
"Missing Link"
"Toy Story 4"
"How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World"

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"The Farewell"
"Les Misérables"
"Pain and Glory"
"Parasite"
"Portrait of a Lady on Fire"

BEST TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
"Big Little Lies"
"The Crown"
"Killing Eve"
"The Morning Show"
"Succession"

BEST TELEVISION SERIES - COMEDY
"Barry"
"Fleabag"
"The Kominsky Method"
"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"
"The Politician"

MINISERIES OR TELEVISION FILM
"Catch-22"
"Chernobyl"
"Fosse/Verdon"
"The Loudest Voice"
"Unbelievable"

BEST ACTOR TV SERIES - DRAMA
Brian Cox, "Succession"
Kit Harington, "Game of Thrones"
Rami Malek, "Mr. Robor"
Tobias Menzies, "The Crown"
Billy Porter, "Pose"

BEST ACTRESS TV SERIES - DRAMA
Jennifer Aniston, "The Morning Show"
Jodie Comer, "Killing Eve"
Nicole Kidman, "Big Little Lies"
Reese Witherspoon, "The Morning Show"
Olivia Colman, "The Crown"

BEST ACTOR TV SERIES - COMEDY
Ben Platt, "The Politician"
Paul Rudd, "Living With Yourself"
Rami Youssef, "Rami"
Bill Hader, "Barry"
Michael Douglas, "The Kominsky Method"

BEST ACTRESS TV SERIES - COMEDY
Christina Applegate, "Dead to Me"
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, "Fleabag"
Natasha Lyonne, "Russian Doll"
Kirsten Dunst, "On Becoming a God in Central Florida"
Rachel Brosnahan, "Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"

BEST ACTOR - MINISERIES OR TELEVISION FILM
Chris Abbott, "Catch 22"
Sacha Baron Cohen, "The Spy"
Russell Crowe, "The Loudest Voice"
Jared Harris, "Chernobyl"
Sam Rockwell, "Fosse/Verdon"

BEST ACTRESS - MINISERIES OR TELEVISION FILM
Michelle Williams, "Fosse/Verdon"
Helen Mirren, "Catherine the Great"
Merritt Wever, "Unbelievable"
Kaitlyn Dever, "Unbelievable"
Joey King, "The Act"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - SERIES, MINISERIES OR TELEVISION FILM
Alan Arkin, "Kominsky Method"
Kieran Culkin, "Succession"
Andrew Scott, "Fleabag"
Stellan Skarsgård, "Chernobyl"
Henry Winkler, "Barry"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - SERIES, MINISERIES OR TELEVISION FILM
Meryl Streep, "Big Little Lies"
Helena Bonham Carter, "The Crown"
Emily Watson, "Chernobyl"
Patricia Arquette, "The Act"
Toni Collette, "Unbelievable"

Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros.

Topics: TV and Film, Joker, Interesting, US News, Warner Bros., US Entertainment, Golden Globes