Joaquin Phoenix on 'complicated' weight loss for 'Joker' sequel: 'I probably shouldn't do this again'

Joaquin Phoenix slimmed down for his latest movie role, possibly for the last time in his career.

During a press conference on Wednesday at the Venice Film Festival, the Oscar-winning actor, 49, said losing weight to star in "Joker: Folie à Deux" was more challenging than it was for the original 2019 film because of the sequel's musical elements.

"This time, it felt a bit more complicated just because there was so much dance rehearsal that we were doing, which I didn't have last time," Phoenix said. "And so it felt a bit more difficult."

But after a journalist asked the actor if there will come a point where he can't physically take these kinds of dramatic transformations anymore, Phoenix said, "You're right. I'm 49. I probably shouldn't do this again. This is probably it for me."

Still, Phoenix stressed that his weight loss was "not really that dangerous" and that he worked with a doctor, though he declined to get into details about his diet for the film. "Nobody really wants to hear that," he said.

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Lady Gaga stars as Harley Quinn in the "Joker" sequel, and according to Phoenix, she also lost "a lot of" weight for the role. "I met you and then we did some rehearsals and then you went away for like a month, and then you came back and you lost a lot of weight," he said, addressing Gaga. "It was really impressive and seemed very difficult."

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When directly asked how much weight he lost, Phoenix seemed reluctant to give a number and said he doesn't remember the exact amount. He also noted he was unhappy with how much attention his physical transformation for the first film received.

"By the end of that run, I was so sick of myself and angry at myself for making such a thing of it," Phoenix said, adding that he vowed, "I'm not going to do that this time." He then quipped, "It was 47 pounds," before clarifying, "No, I'm joking."

Phoenix lost 52 pounds to play Arthur Fleck in the original "Joker," in which the character appears emaciated throughout the film. Director Todd Phillips previously told USA TODAY he wanted the Joker to look "malnourished and thin and hungry." Phoenix, who worked with a nutritionist, told USA TODAY that his diet included apples, lettuce and steamed green beans.

"It's a horrible, brutal diet but you get all the vitamins and minerals, so you're like safe," he said. "It's grotesque."

Phoenix also said at the 2019 Venice Film Festival that the weight loss affected his "psychology" and helped him get into character, explaining, "You start to go mad when you lose that much weight in that amount of time."

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Other actors who have made headlines for dramatic weight loss transformations include Christian Bale, who lost 70 pounds between the filming of his movies "Vice" and "Ford v Ferrari." "I keep saying I'm done with it," Bale told "CBS Sunday Morning" of his weight loss transformations in 2019. "I really think I'm done with it."

Joaquin Phoenix declines to explain why he abruptly dropped out of gay romance movie

Also during the Venice press conference, Phoenix was asked about the elephant in the room: the fact that he recently dropped out of a gay romance movie that was set to be directed by Todd Haynes. According to Variety, he left the project just five days before filming was set to start.

Phoenix has been taking heat for the last-minute exit, but he declined to explain what happened.

"If I do, I would just be sharing my opinion from my perspective, and the other creatives aren't here to say their piece, and it just doesn't feel like that would be right," Phoenix said. "I'm not sure how that would be helpful."

He added, "So, I don't think I will. Thank you."

Contributing: Brian Truitt