Jared Leto On Perfecting His Joker Laugh In Suicide Squad

Of all the intricate layers to the Clown Prince of Crime as a character, the one that often resonates most with fans is the iconic, blood-curdling Joker cackle. It’s one of the traits that allows each actor that portrays DC’s infamous supervillain to add their own twist to the formula, and next in line to revel in insanity is Jared Leto for this year’s Suicide Squad.

It goes without saying that Leto’s acting has been the topic of heated debate throughout production, but there’s seemingly method to the madness. Here, the Oscar-winner reveals his creative process to CNBC and, in particular, how he settled on perfecting the Joker’s laugh.

In fact, if you live in New York or Toronto and happened to spot the Suicide Squad star, there’s a good chance you could’ve helped speed that process along.

“I worked on the laugh like walking around the streets of New York and Toronto. I kinda walked around the streets and see what laugh would kind of get under peoples’ skin. If you hear someone laugh loud at a restaurant it’s a little jarring. I tried them out and I got to a place where I would laugh and people would turn around like, ‘Who is this creepy guy behind me?'”

Held up as the “next step” in the DC Extended Universe, largely because it’s purportedly unlike any superhero/anti-hero feature before it, there’s now an added pressure thrust onto the shoulders of David Ayer’s spinoff in light of the critical drumming directed at Batman V Superman. Those garish trailers have certainly caught our eye, but can Suicide Squad maintain that style all throughout its running time?

David Ayer unleashes Task Force X in all of their unspeakable glory when Suicide Squad lands in theaters on August 5.