Robert De Niro apparently didn’t come to the “Joker” set completely off-book.
While talking with Jason Ritter on Maron’s podcast “WTF,” the comedian and host recounted his days on set with Robert De Niro filming “Joker.” Maron said that the legendary actor kept forgetting his lines, which helped make him seem more like a real person.
“I did that one scene with De Niro in ‘Joker’ and I was literally watching him, because I was on the set all week, and he’s playing that talk show host,” Maron said. “He doesn’t know his lines, and they’re doing it over and over again. It was totally demystifying De Niro to me, because I’ve watched him my whole life.”
Maron added, “Obviously he’s a great actor, but they understand something – people who live their lives on-camera and have been doing it that long – because I’m watching and I’m like, ‘This is a disaster. How are they going to cut this together?’ He knew that it was all going to cut up right. He’s been on set so many times where he’s just going to do it and do it and do it and they’ll find one.”
The comic isn’t the only person who’s shared surprising behind-the-scenes experiences shooting on “Joker.” Stand-up comedian Sam Morril also had a small role in the film and explained to Howard Stern that he used his own material for his scenes.
“I think they expected me to suck, so I was kind of pumped,” Morril said. “I’m in my trailer and Todd Phillips is going over it with me and I was like, it says I’m an open mic-er in this — do you want me to be s—ty, like an open mic-er? He was like, ‘Well, you’re doing your jokes.’”
Morril continued, “I’m not going to bomb with my stuff — I’m not going up there trying to bomb with my stuff, I’m going to kill.”
“Joker: Folie à Deux” – the long-anticipated sequel to the R-rated DC Comics film – hits theaters on Oct. 4.