Suicide Squad: How Leto Developed His Joker Laugh

Jared Leto developed his laugh for Suicide Squad by getting under people’s skin

One of Joker’s defining traits is his laugh. He is a clown after all. A mad murderous, psychotic clown, but still a clown who wants to make the world laugh in his own twisted way. And while no two Jokers laugh the same, the best Jokers on film have always delivered a laugh that can be considered downright unnerving and terrifying.

That’s a challenge Jared Leto faced playing the newest incarnation of The Joker in the upcoming Suicide Squad film. He had to develop a laugh that was distinctly hos own, yet embodied the terrifying spirit of the Clown Prince Of Crime. So how did Leto develop his laugh for Suicide Squad? By laughing creepily at random people on the street of course!

"I worked on the laugh walking around the streets of New York and Toronto, and I kinda would walk around the streets and see what laughs would get under people’s skin. You know when you hear someone laugh at a restaurant? It’s a little jarring. I tried them out. And I kind of got to a place where I would laugh and people are always turning around like, ‘Who is this creepy guy behind me?’"

And you can see Jared Leto actually explain how he developed the laugh to CNBC’s Squawk Box below. He doesn’t do the laugh, but you’ve heard it in the various Suicide Squad trailers by now:

Next: Suicide Squad 'Next Step' In Superhero Movies

You can debate all you want about Joker’s appearance in Suicide Squad, but I think Leto’s got the part down cold from what I’ve seen in the trailers, bringing something new while still being an extremely menacing presence. And a big part of that is the iconic “Joker Laugh”. It’s not important that he sounds like a previous Joker, just that you know what the laugh means, and that what Leto manages to do. Suicide Squad opens August 5th.

h/t Comicbook.com