Jared Leto Gaining Weight to Play the Joker in SUICIDE SQUAD; Says Character Is “A Beautiful Disaster”

Suicide Squad is packed with movie stars, but none of them have as heavy a burden as Jared Leto, who will play the latest on-screen incarnation of the Joker.  He’ll be in the shadow of Heath Ledger‘s unforgettable performance, although that performance should remind us to give Leto the benefit of the doubt.  Fanboys were vehemently against Ledger when he was first cast as the Joker; they had no idea how the actor or director Christopher Nolan envisioned the character for The Dark Knight.  We’re in the same place with Leto, director David Ayer, and Suicide Squad.
When asked by Billboard about playing the Joker, Leto was unsurprisingly vague, but did say:

“Do you mind if I eat a little?” Jared Leto asks Billboard during an interview for our new cover story, out Friday, Feb. 20. “I’m trying to gain a lot of weight. It means I have to eat every couple of hours — and I’m terrible at eating a lot.” (Case in point: Leto was eating vegan tacos during the interview, which are hardly the fattiest food on the market.)

I will boldly step forward and be Jared Leto’s eating coach.  It will take a lot of practice, but I believe with enough hard work, I can get him from vegan tacos to Doritos Locos Tacos. Cue “Eye of the Tiger”.
The Joker has never been a “hefty” character, and while I don’t know if Leto is supposed to pack on muscle or fat (presumably, it’s the former), the guy should probably just put on some weight for his general health.  The dude could slip through storm grate.
Leto also talked about the character’s appeal, telling Billboard “The opportunity to take on this nearly Shakespearean character — that’s what graphic novels and comic books are becoming, right?  [He’s] this beautiful disaster of a character — what a big challenge.”
Suicide Squad opens August 5, 2016, and also stars Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney, and Cara Delevinge.