Joker: ‘No f****** way’ Joaquin Phoenix’s behaviour on-set EXPOSED in Robert De Niro spat

Joker is set to be one of the biggest films of the year, and is already incredibly controversial as viewers gear up for the latest incarnation of the troubled DC Comics character.

The last person to embody the clown was Jared Leto in a MTV-esque version of the character for Suicide Squad, and before that was the iconic, Oscar-winning Heath Ledger, who died shortly after filming the intense The Dark Knight with Christian Bale.

So all eyes are on Phoenix to see what his portrayal will deliver, but in the meantime, it seems the production suffered a number of teething problems, not least of which is the alleged spat going on with the actor and De Niro behind the scenes.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Phillips, 48, revealed the problems began when Phoenix refused to attend a read-through at first.

De Niro, 76, plays an American talk show host called Murray Franklin in the movie, and he and the Joker struggle to understand each other – so it makes sense the actors would keep their distance in real life.

And the director said the exceptional actors also had very different ways of getting into character.

“Bob called me and he goes, ‘Tell him he’s an actor and he’s got to be there, I like to hear the whole movie, and we’re going to all get in a room and just read it,’ Phillips shared.

“And I’m in between a rock and a hard place,” the filmmaker went on. “Because Joaquin’s like, ‘There’s no f***ing way I’m doing a read-through.’

“And Bob’s like, ‘I do read-throughs before we shoot, that’s what we do.’”

Despite the initial problems, the read-through eventually went ahead at De Niro’s New York City office, but unfortunately Phoenix allegedly still wasn’t keen to play ball.

Phillips told the magazine that Phoenix “mumbled” through the whole thing, and De Niro decided to pull his co-star aside for a chat.

“He’s in front of Bob, and he goes, ‘I can’t, I gotta go home,’ because he felt sick after that read-through,” Phillips continued. “He didn’t like it.”

According to the director, the Oscar-nominated and winning actors “talked over a few minor issues.”

As the troubles came to an end, De Niro ended up assuring his co-star they would make things work.

“It’s going to be okay, bubbeleh,” Phillips said The Godfather II actor said.

Both actors also told the publication they chose not to speak too much when they weren’t filming, in the hope of remaining in character.

“I didn’t like to talk to him on set,” Phoenix said. “The first day we said good morning, and beyond that I don’t know that we talked much.”

“His character and my character, we didn’t need to talk about anything,” De Niro added. “We just say, ‘Do the work. Relate as the characters to each other.’ It makes it simpler and we don’t [talk]. There’s no reason to.”

Phoenix had high words of praise for De Niro, calling him his ‘favorite American actor,’ and saying he saw a trace of method acting in the screen icon’s preparation.

Joker is released in cinemas Friday, October 4.

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