Lady Gaga says she had to forego her usual on-stage bravado for her portrayal of Harley Quinn in the Joker sequel

CNN
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With Friday's release of “Joker: Folie à Deux,” Lady Gaga introduces audiences to Lee Quinzel, her version of DC Comics' love interest Harley Quinn.

In an interview with CNN, Gaga explained how she had to change her typical approach to performing for the film, which is simultaneously a stripped-down musical and a dark love story between Joker, aka Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix). , and Gaga's character.

“All the showmanship, all the bravery of being on stage, all the things that I do as Gaga that come naturally to me, I tried to completely eliminate those things,” said Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta is.

The 13-time Grammy Award-winning singer, who also won an Oscar for her original song “Shallow” from the 2018 film “A Star is Born,” even unlearned singing techniques for her latest role.

“I was trying to breathe wrong,” she said, later adding that she was “trying not to place the pitch of my voice in my throat like I would on stage.”

The result is a character with a breathless and reserved vocal technique that matches Phoenix's similar vocal style in her duets. They harmonize in other ways too, as she is very comfortable in violence and arson alongside the at times murderous Joker, as seen in the film.

“Folie à Deux” is the sequel to 2019’s “Joker,” for which Phoenix won the Oscar for Best Actor. The film grossed over $1 billion at the global box office, which partly paved the way for this somewhat unlikely sequel.

“Joker: Folie à Deux” hits theaters on Friday. It is produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, which, like CNN, is part of Warner Bros. Discovery.