‘Two worlds colliding in the most random way possible’: Before starring together in ‘Joker: Folie à Deux,’ Joaquin Phoenix learned about Lady Gaga in the most random way

Joaquin Phoenix has always been an artist’s artist, somehow managing to fully transform into the characters he plays. This is why his latest on-screen coupling with Lady Gaga works so well; both are amazing performers with larger-than-life personalities, which translates perfectly to the big screen for their new movie, Joker: Folie à Deux where we explore the respective backstories of their storied comic book characters. That said, Phoenix learning about Gaga is the best backstory I’ve heard in a long time.

Gaga joined the Joker sequel as the infamous Harley Quinn. Her character comes with a twist as she plays Harleen “Lee” Quinzel, a Joker superfan and Arthur Fleck’s eventual significant other, who finally makes him feel seen and appreciated. Their toxic romance has been well documented in comic book films and adaptations, yet the new film takes a different approach, as Joker: Folie à Deux dives into uncharted territories as a (tame) musical.

Joaquin and Gaga’s confidence in each other translated onto the big screen, as the connection between the Joker and Harley Quinn needed two actors who trusted each other. Although the two hadn’t met in real life before working on the film, Joaquin learned about her music over a decade earlier in the most unexpected way.

Miley Cyrus introduced Joaquin Phoenix to Lady Gaga’s music and it’s as random as it gets

Picturing Joaquin Phoenix and Miley Cyrus having a conversation is something I never would’ve thought of, but, somehow, the meeting went down exactly as you’d expect. In 2010, Joaquin Phoenix attended the launch of IMAlive, a live online crisis network from founder Jamie Tworkowski of the non-profit To Write Love on Her Arms. At the same event was Miley Cyrus, and in between talking about the event, they started getting to know each other where Cyrus eventually became the one who first told Phoenix about the then-biggest artist on the planet, Lady Gaga.

The you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it moment includes Phoenix pretending to have a clue who Lady Gaga was, which he didn’t, but played it cool, which you can see around the 2:35 mark. He claimed he was well-versed in the songs of the “Paparazzi” singer, conjuring made-up songs like “Everybody Goes Up” and “Two Lashes at a Time.” Cyrus couldn’t be fooled though, and started to sing and dance to “Bad Romance,” which Phoenix admitted he didn’t know. The entire conversation is unexpected and random but, flash forward to over a decade later and Phoenix and Lady Gaga are now co-stars in one of the most anticipated films of 2024.

Naturally, Phoenix knows who Lady Gaga is now, after singing together on Joker: Folie à Deux. Gaga is also aware of how he was introduced to her music, as the old video resurfaced during a promo interview with Capital FM. “I didn’t know that,” Gaga admitted, before adding, “I know what I’m going to be showing him later.”

As for their real first meeting, it happened at her house, per Phoenix’s words, and later connected with Joker director Todd Phillips over dinner, where Lady Gaga’s music knowledge blew them away, so she had to be the one to play Lee.

Fans were thrilled about Miley being a girl’s girl and promoting Gaga, and most of the comments on the official video called for a Miley x Gaga collaboration, which we’d love and fully support. “Joaquin’s journey is crazy! From clueless to co-star with Gaga what a glow-up!,” wrote a fan, with another writing, “Two lashes at a time could be a hit tho.” It feels like Phoenix knew her before he even met her because he matched her freak even without knowing who she was.