We all know Lady Gaga can sing, so finding out she’d be singing in Joker: Folie À Deux wasn’t surprising. But what about her co-star, Joaquin Phoenix? He also sings in the movie, and unlike Gaga, he hasn’t had any formal training.  What’s more, Phoenix says he needed to sing badly intentionally.

Speaking to Empire magazine about his character, Arthur Fleck, aka Joker,  Phoenix says it was important for him to sing with “poor phrasing and occasional bum notes.” He explains, “Arthur grew up hearing his mother play these songs on the radio. He’s not a singer, and he shouldn’t sound like a professional singer. He should sound like somebody that’s taking a shower and just bursts out into song.”

But what was it like for him to sing opposite a virtuoso vocalist like Lady Gaga? He jokes, “I do seem to remember her spitting up coffee the first time I sang, so that felt good, that was exciting, and made me feel confident.”   

But seriously, Phoenix says, “Gaga was always very encouraging of just, ‘Go with what you feel, it’s fine.’ For somebody who’s not a performer in that way, it can be… uncomfortable to do that, but also very exciting.” 

Phoenix should feel better about the fact that Gaga has said that in the movie, she also sang badly intentionally, because her character, Harley Quinn, isn’t a trained singer either.

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