Harry Lawtey Talks Playing Harvey Dent in 'Joker: Folie À Deux' | THR Video
Harry Lawtey chats with THR at the 'Joker: Folie à Deux' premiere and reveals what made him want to be a part of this sequel, saying it was "a lot of pressure, but a real privilege." Plus, he talks preparing for his role of Harvey Dent and working with Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga.
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00:00What made you want to step into the dark world of this movie and be a part of this sequel?
00:04I mean, why would you not? It's such a privilege and a pleasure to be able to be
00:09part of a film like this and just, I suppose, a cinematic experience really that Todd's designed
00:15himself, you know. Of course, there's a lot of pressure as well, but a real privilege and I feel
00:20very, very grateful to be here. What sort of research did you do about your character, who
00:26is a known character in the DC Universe? Yeah, no, I did a lot of research. I mean,
00:30there's an amazing kind of treasure trove of different backstories and origin stories. You
00:35know, there's so much kind of legacy and heritage with these characters in terms of the fandom and
00:39the comics. And so, yeah, I was able to kind of just go on a bit of a deep dive and try and find
00:43the aspects of that that I felt were kind of functional and best suited this incarnation of
00:48the character. And yeah, almost try and build your own story, really, which was lovely. And
00:53there's a real kind of spirit in the comic books and that kind of encourages you to do that. You
00:59almost have these characters like on a lease, you know, like you're kind of renting them for a
01:02period of time and hopefully just giving them back in good shape, you know. Todd has said this isn't
01:08a musical, but there are musical elements. How would you define this film in terms of genre?
01:13Yeah, I would say it's a kind of a natural progression of the first in some ways. There
01:17were certainly surreal, abstract, otherworldly kind of stylistic choices in the first film,
01:24and this kind of just takes that notion and runs with it, I think. And the songs become like an
01:30extension of the characters and their mindset. And ultimately, it's just the most obvious means
01:36of expression at the time, I think. But when you look back to the first with the stairs and the
01:40moment in the bathroom, I think there is certainly the genesis of that in the first film.
01:46Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix are both known for being method actors. What was it like working
01:50with them on this movie? It was just surreal and wonderful. You know, they are absolute icons and
01:58complete maestros, just real experts of the craft. And they have such a mastery of their
02:04instrument. And so to be in that orbit and to watch the way they work and to kind of,
02:10I suppose, bask in that light really was just amazing. And I can still hardly believe it now,
02:14to be honest. I feel very honored to have shared space with them.
02:18If there are more films in this universe, could we maybe see more of your character?
02:22Would you be interested in that? Who knows? I mean, it's very much above
02:25my pay grade, I think. But yeah, I loved playing this role. It was such an honor
02:30and so exciting for me. And so I'd, of course, be open to more. But yeah, that's not for me to say.