Leto chopped off his signature ombre locks, bleached his hair and then dyed it green while also shaving off his eyebrows for his time as the Joker in the 2014 DC superhero flick. Add in lots of tattoos, including the word “Damaged” on his forehead, and silver teeth and you have the most extreme (and divisive) take on the legendary character yet.
But his transformation into the supervillain extended beyond his appearance, with the actor sending gag gifts like “used condoms” and “anal beads” to his co-stars, including Viola Davis and Margot Robbie. (There were also rumors of Leto gifting a dead rat.)
“I did a lot of things to create a dynamic, to create an element of surprise, of spontaneity, and to really break down any kind of walls that may be there,” he told E! News at the premiere. “The Joker is somebody who doesn’t really respect things like personal space or boundaries.”
But in 2021, Leto clarified the reports of his gag gifts, telling Entertainment Weekly, “Any of the very few gifts that were ever given were given with a spirit of fun and adventure and received with laughter, fun and adventure.”
He added, “I’m playing a guy called the Joker, it’s okay to play some jokes. Nothing ever crossed any lines, and it’s not up to other people on the internet to create those lines… I’m an artist at the end of the day. If I do something risky and you don’t like it, basically, you can kiss my ass.”