Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix sang live in 'Joker 2' to capture their characters' 'Shared Madness'

Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix sang live on set Joker: Folie à Deux — not only because they are bona fide professionals, but also because they wanted their performances to be as raw and unpredictable as their characters.

In a new interview with Variety published on Tuesday (August 20), the pair – who play Harley Quinn and Arthur Fleck, respectively – opened up about the challenges of using live vocals during filming. A pianist was on-site to provide off-camera accompaniment, after which their takes were stitched together and occasionally re-recorded in the studio as needed.

“We didn't want vibrato and perfect notes,” Phoenix explained, adding that he and the pop star wanted to “let the emotion guide” their performances to stay “true to the moment.”

“We asked ourselves, 'What would it be like for two people to break into song in the middle of a conversation?' Gaga added. “'Where does the music come from when no one but the characters can hear it?' Neither did Arthur [Harley] they're professional singers and they shouldn't sound like they are… We wanted to help tell the story of their shared madness in a way that felt real.”

“I think we all have an intimate and personal relationship with music as there is a score for our inner emotional life,” he continued. Variety. “A score that usually no one can hear but us. That's what we tried to capture for Arthur and Lee — the music inside them.”

The interview comes about a month and a half before the Joker The sequel will hit theaters on October 4. The first major trailer for the film was released in July, promising a darkly chaotic story that finds Fleck and Quinn meeting in a mental institution and embarking on a musical journey together as the former awaits trial for his crimes as the Joker.

In another recent Q&A about the project, Phoenix revealed that Gaga — despite being a 13-time Grammy winner and vocal powerhouse in her own right — was quite supportive of his singing abilities while working on the film. “I seem to remember her spitting out the coffee the first time I sang, so it felt good, it was exciting and it made me feel confident,” he said. Empire in July. “Gaga was always very encouraging, saying, 'Go with what you feel, it's fine.' For someone who's not a performer in that way, it can be … awkward to do that, but also very exciting.”

Except Folie à Deuxthe 'Applause' singer is also gearing up to release her seventh studio album, which has been teased for weeks. While in Paris to perform at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics in July, she even played a few excerpts from the record for fans gathered outside her hotel.

In the meantime, listeners can enjoy A star is born the actress' new standalone single with Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile,” which was released on August 16; The pair also collaborated on a Dolly Parton-esque Porter Wagoner music video to accompany the cinematic ballad, which was released on the same day as the song.