Joaquin Phoenix has received a lot of appreciation for his mind-blowing performance in his latest film ‘Joker.’ One of the biggest things that catch everyone’s attention in the movie is Arthur Fleck’s uncontrollable laughing.
In the movie, Fleck suffers from the Pseudobulbar affect, a mental disorder that causes him to laugh uncontrollably. The movie managed to show how Arthur’s illness affected him, even though he could do anything to stop and control it. But there was a man who could really understand the feelings and the pain of the character is Scott Lotan.
Scott Lotan lives the Pseudobulbar affect, or PBA is a symptom of his multiple sclerosis. Just like Arthur, Scott this mental disorder causes him to have laughing episodes that can last up to 10 minutes.
Speaking about his disorder, he told LADbible, “I have had issues with not being served at restaurants and been asked to leave because waitstaff were uncomfortable. Many times if I am out for a drink with friends, there is someone with low self-esteem that believes I am laughing at them and they will try and start a fight.“
Just like Arthur from Joker, Lotan frequently finds himself in very uncomfortable positions due to PBA.
Further, he said: “We were leaving my engagement party and were hit by a drunk driver. My fiancée died at the scene with my mother’s death three days later. I remember being at the scene laughing and being questioned by police. At the wakes for both my mother and my fiancée, I would have to separate myself from everyone as I would burst into laughter at times.”
“I try to be fully aware of myself and I understand that it’s beyond my control, but knowing that others think you are a freak and always explaining to people I am not this emotionally void psychopath can be difficult.”
Talking about Joker and about Joaquin‘s role, he said, “I think he did a great job of capturing the inability to stop laughing no matter what the circumstances are. 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,” he added.
Speaking the intolerable choking during laughing episodes he added, “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.“
ALSO READ: 7 Memorable Quotes From Joaquin Phoenix’ Joker That Will Stick With Us Forever