Suicide Squad: Jared Leto Gaining A Lot Of Weight For The Joker

 Jared Leto ("Panic Room") hasn't said too much about landing the coveted role of The Joker in David Ayer's Suicide Squad. However, Billboard was able to get him to open up a bit and you might be surprised at what he had to say about the role and how he is preparing for it.

Jared Leto gained 67 pounds to play Mark David Chapman and dropped 30 to 40 pounds for his Oscar-winning role in Dallas Buyers Club, so it may come as no suprise that Leto is trying to transform his body once again to play The Joker. "Do you mind if I eat a little?" Jared Leto told Billboard. "I'm trying to gain a lot of weight. It means I have to eat every couple of hours -- and I'm terrible at eating a lot."

Relax, Leto isn't scarfing down sandwiches or drinking milkshakes like he did to play Chapman. Billboard says Leto was consuming vegan tacos. Good luck getting fat on those.

The Joker has always been considered a real prize of the comic book movie roles. Heck, Heath Ledger won an Oscar based on his performance in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. Leto is no fool, he knows the potential that comes with playing the Clown Prince Of Crime. "The opportunity to take on this nearly Shakespearean character -- that's what graphic novels and comic books are becoming, right?" Leto said. "[He's] this beautiful disaster of a character -- what a big challenge."

Suicide Squad will land in theaters Aug. 5, 2016.