Will Smith Says He's Never Met Jared Leto The Actor, Just The Joker

It's no secret the production of “Suicide Squad”  was a, for lack of a better term, batsh*t crazy experience.

Tales of on-site therapists, Jared Leto gifting people live rats and the squad branding each other with tattoos -- not that anyone in the cast has any formal training in that very permanent/very painful medium -- came out from behind the scenes since almost the first day of shooting.

Things were even weirder than previously thought, though, as Will Smith revealed to Beats 1, despite being in the movie with him, he never technically met Jared Leto.

During the interview, Smith told host Zane Lowe,

I've never actually met Jared Leto... We worked together for six months, and we've never exchanged a word outside of 'Action!' and 'Cut!' We've never said 'hello,' we've never said 'good day.' I've only ever spoken to him as Deadshot and him as the Joker. I literally have not met him yet. So, the first time I see him will be 'Hey, Jared. What's up? Hey man, how you doing. Nice to meet you.' Never. Not a single word exchanged off camera. He was all in on the Joker.

Because of the tragic history associated with the Joker role, it is a little scary Leto went through such lengths, but it also makes me oddly excited for the film, slated for release August of next year.

You can watch the interview below (skip to about 15:45 if you're in a rush or just don't want to hear Smith talk about music and his children).

Side note: It can't be easy to be Jared Leto's friend. It seems like he is totally the kind of person who takes things WAYYYY too far. He's like the guy who gets angry during competitive kickball.

Citations: Will Smith Reveals Just How Intense Jared Letos Suicide Squad Transformation Was (Vanity Fair)