It’s been out for less than a few weeks, and Joker has not only won over critics but fans, and a lot of cold hard cash. One thing that people praise most in the movie is Joaquin Phoenix’s performance of Arthur Fleck, and the unique medical affliction that haunts Fleck. In the movie, Phoenix has provided a grounded take on the origin of the Joker’s trademark laugh. Whereas Nicholson’s 89 Joker began the maniacal laugh after seeing himself in the mirror for the first time, post a dunk in chemicals. Ledger’s Joker presented a laugh that was maybe a twisted take on the sort of humor he got. Alternately, Phoenix’s Joker laugh is based on pathological laughter, which is something that often manifests after severe trauma.

Phoenix’s take on Joker’s trademark laugh was so spot on that Scott Lotan, who suffers from this disorder in real-life, has stepped forward to praise Phoenix for his accurate take on the laugh. The medical term for the disease is pseudobulbar.

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“I think he did a great job of capturing the inability to stop laughing no matter what the circumstances are,” Lotan told LADBible. “I felt as if he experienced a deep sense of rejection in the bus scene, similar to how I felt during the days of my accident.

“It weighs heavy on the mind, people just look at you. You try and explain but they have preconceived notions that you are a drug addict or just a deranged lunatic. I think he captured the feeling of isolation and frustration with the lack of understanding from others.

“At times during the film I felt as though I was looking at a reflection of myself.”

One specific aspect Phoenix nailed was the choking aspect.

“The choking comes from trying to catch my breath, desperately needing to breathe. Also, spit builds up in your mouth and as you pull in a breath the spit goes down the wrong pipe.

“My neck gets really sore and I am moving my head to try to relieve strain and sometimes that cuts off air.”

Lotan, who may have one of the coolest last names I’ve ever heard, suffers from bouts of uncontrollable laughter as a side effect of having multiple sclerosis. Check out the below video just so you can see how close Phoenix was to the real thing. Be warned, it’s a sad watch.

It seems to me that DC actors are investing a ton into radically altering their bodies to portray characters. Bravo to Phoenix, who not only lost a dramatic amount of body mass to bring this incarnation of the Clown Prince of Crime to life, but also has shined a light onto a rare medical condition I had never knew existed.

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SOURCE: Ladbible

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