Before he was Joker, Joaquin Phoenix was Superboy and it will make you cringe

Joker opens in the UK this week and the anticipation is reaching fever pitch for the controversial film which depicts the origin story of Batman's most infamous foe.

However, this isn't the first time that Phoenix has played a DC character. In his early days as child star, Phoenix wore the cape of Superboy in a CBAS TV series about the young hero.

In a dream sequence from the first season episode entitled Little Hercules, the actor (credited as Leaf Phoenix) dons superhero garb years before he would become synonymous with The Joker in the Todd Phillips film.

A clip from the episode has since resurfaced online and it's hardly the greatest thing that the actor has ever done in his career.

In a far more awkward video than the one showing Phoenix as a child star, the Joker actor appeared on Jimmy Kimmel’s chat show this week to promote the new movie and seemed genuinely surprised when the host played an outtake from the film in which the actor is seen losing his temper with the cinematographer for whispering between takes. The discussion begins around the eight-minute mark of the video below.

However, all is not what it seems as Phoenix's publicist has since confirmed that this whole thing was an elaborate hoax.

As if all this press attention was not enough, it has been noticed that a song from convicted paedophile Gary Glitter has made its way on the soundtrack of the movie.

It’s hard to think of a film that has received so much press before its release, whether it’s any good or not only time will tell.

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