Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn Is ‘Going to Blow Your Mind,’ Says ‘Joker 2’ Casting Director

Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn performance was “really surprising” to Joker: Folie à Deux’s casting director Francine Maisler, who said casting Gaga to star opposite Joaquin Phoenix was not her idea.

“She’s so good in it, you guys. She’s going to blow your mind,” Maisler said during a recent conversation at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (via Variety). “I didn’t suggest Lady Gaga. It wasn’t my idea. That was [director] 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.”

Maisler added: “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.”

Gaga’s portrayal of Harley Quinn comes after Margot Robbie played the villain in a trio of recent movies, Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey, and The Suicide Squad. In an interview with Access Hollywood, Gaga spoke about how she would portray the character, saying “My version of Harley is mine and it’s very authentic to this movie and these characters.”

Robbie, meanwhile, has voiced support for Gaga in the role, saying at the Golden Globes, “Oh my God, she’s going to crush it.”

Joker: Folie à Deux is set to arrive in theaters on Oct. 4.