Joker 2 Cinematographer Says Lady Gaga Wanted to be Called a Different Name on Set

Joaquin Phoenix's clown prince of crime is returning for another mad adventure. Following the smash success of 2019's Joker, a film that won a pair of Academy Awards and grossed over one billion dollars at the worldwide box office, Warners Bros. gave the green light for director Todd Phillips to develop a sequel. Joker: Folie à Deux will take the titular character on an unexpected journey, as it was revealed that the film would actually be a musical. As evident by the subtitle's translation ("madness for two"), Joker: Folie à Deux will double the craziness, bringing in Lady Gaga to play Harley Quinn.

Speaking to The Trenches Talk podcast, Joker: Folie à Deux cinematographer Lawrence Sher provided some insight into Gaga's acting style on the film's set, noting the real-life Stefani Germanotta was essentially method the entire time.

"I didn't know at all," Sher said. "Strangely, I felt like I never even met her, even during the makeup and hair tests. Maybe it was my philosophy of not trying to get in their space. I remember for a week, being like, 'God, I feel like we are disconnecting. Not even connecting. We are like on opposites.' And I would say to my crew, 'Jesus, I can't, like, crack it. She either hates me or we hate each other. There's something weird going on here.'"

It turned out that the vibes were off because of how in character Gaga was almost all of the time. It got to the point that Gaga would not respond to neither her stage nor her real name.

"I barely said anything, except I would say, 'Stefani, this is where your second team was, minor little things,' and then the AD at one point said, 'Oh you know, Stef would like if you just called her Lee on set,'" Sher continued. "The next thing I said, was something 'Lee,' and it was like everything changed. From that point on, it was like she was… our whole connection changed. I was like, alright, cool."

There's no definitive answer as to why Gaga wanted to be referred to as "Lee," but it likely is derived from her character's name, Har-LEE Quinn. 

Joker: Folie à Deux wrapped production this past April. It is currently scheduled to hit theaters on October 4th, 2024. Alongside Pheonix and Gaga, the film also stars Zazie Beetz, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Jacob Lofland and Harry Lawtey.