Lady Gaga ‘I Wanted to Do Something I’ve Never Done Before’ in ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ (Exclusive)

Lady Gaga plays DC Comics villainous character Harleen “Lee” Quinzel aka Harley Quinn, alongside Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck aka Joker

Niko Tavernise

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Niko Tavernise

Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga in “Joker: Folie a Deux”.

Lady Gaga’s fans have never seen her like this before.

“It’s for sure” – the 38-year-old actress and musician tells PEOPLE when asked about the novelty of starring in the film Joker: Folie à Deux(in theaters October 4). As an expert in reinvention – who has kept audiences on the edge of her seat as a pop superstar, fashion icon, jazz singer and leading lady – she welcomes a new challenge.

“I really wanted to do something I’ve never done before,” says Gaga, playing DC Comics villain Harleen “Lee” Quinzel, a.k.a. Harley Quinn, opposite Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, a.k.a. the Joker. In the new sequel to Todd Phillips’ hit 2019 story, Gaga and Phoenix, 49, alternate between the grim reality of Gotham’s Arkham State Hospital and whimsical songs and dances representing their shared madness (yes, it’s a musical).

Related: Lady Gaga has trouble handing out popcorn Joker: Folie à Deux Show at High Fashion Look

She chose the second reason Folie à Deux as a sequel to the 2018 Oscar-winning filmA star is bornand 2021Gucci House– says Gaga – is an acknowledgment of these two extremes. “There are so many issues of identity and duality in this film,” says the woman born Stefani Germanotta. “For me, having a person in my life as Gaga, I think I just wanted it to be really grounded in reality because I definitely think having two identities is really complicated. I knew there was a real story behind it.”

“Lee was a study in contradictions,” adds the “Die With a Smile” singer. Her “love and obsession” with Arthur, she says, “was also admiration and loathing. I believe this was truthful and unfair. I think it was really dangerous and yet completely peaceful.”

Through every twist and turn Folie à Deuxthe character “was kind of all of that,” Gaga says. “She was a very non-linear person – and I think we all are like that. Sometimes in storytelling there is a need to make sense of things. And that was our enemy who was making this movie.

He continues, “The more contradictory she could be, the more real she seemed to me.”

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Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix

Related: Lady Gaga Conversations Joker: Folie À Deux“Rough and Tough Energy” in an exclusive behind-the-scenes video

In fact, viewers see Folie à Deuxwhich focuses on Arthur’s murder trial for the events of 1930 Jokerwhen it comes to Lee, there may be more questions left than answers. Gaga herself admits that she “didn’t really” leave the character after filming ended.

“That means I didn’t take it home with me,” he adds. But “you fall in love with the characters you play. That’s what I’ve always done anyway. Sometimes it was hard for me to leave them.”

Joker: Folie à Deuxstarring Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Leigh Gill, Zazie Beetz, Sharon Washington and Steve Coogan, in cinemas from October 4.

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