Lady Gaga’s ‘Joker 2’ Harley Quinn performance ‘surprised’ casting director: ‘I didn’t suggest’ her

Todd Phillips’ upcoming sequel to his original “Joker” film, “Joker: Folie á Deux,” is reportedly centered on music. So, it makes perfect sense that musician and Oscar-winning actress Lady Gaga is playing Harley Quinn.

However, it wasn’t casting director Francine Maisler’s initial idea to cast the “Bad Romance” singer opposite Joaquin Phoenix.

It was Phillips, 53, who picked Gaga for the part. And apparently, he picked right.

“She’s so good in it, you guys. She’s going to blow your mind,” Maisler, 61, said while speaking at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on July 5, via IndieWire. “I didn’t suggest Lady Gaga. It wasn’t my idea. That was Todd Phillips, before me. But I will tell you, she’s really surprising — and really good. I saw it and I was really surprised. I mean, we all knew what she could do in ‘A Star Is Born,’ but I thought, ‘Oh, well, that’s kind of in her wheelhouse.’ Something she could do and just be real. But this … Man, she’s good.”

“Joaquin blows your mind, but that she could keep up with him, and be real — and not just wiped off the screen by what that role is and what the performance is — shows she’s good,” she added.

Gaga, 38, previously emphasized that her portrayal of the character is very much her own.