Joaquin Phoenix dons goofy clown make-up and costume as he films scenes for The Joker in NYC 

He has big clown shoes to fill following Jared Leto, Heath Ledger, and Jack Nicholson as all three actors played The Joker.

And Joaquin Phoenix took it all in stride as he filmed scenes for the new titular movie in New York City on Saturday.

The 43-year-old Walk The Line Oscar winner was dressed in full goofy clown costume and makeup for his take on the DC super-villain origin story.

Rocking a neon green wig, tiny hat, and plaid jacket, Joaquin  turned on the charm as he paraded around the street holding a sale sign.

At one point, he kicked up his feet allowing a full view of his over sized clown shoes.

The origin story sees Joaquin in the titular role despite Jared Leto most recently playing The Joker in Suicide Squad.

The movie has Martin Scorsese as one of its producers and Robert De Niro is set to be in the movie as 'a talk show host who is somehow instrumental in the Joker’s origin', according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Deadpool 2 actress Zazie Beetz plays 'a single mother who catches the interest of the man who will become the clown prince of crime,' THR.com also reported.

Marc Maron appears as 'an agent on Robert De Niro’s talk show who plays a part in booking Phoenix’s character, eventually causing him to go mad and become the Clown Prince of Crime,' according to Variety. 

The origins script is reportedly loosely based on The Killing Joke, written by Alan Moore for DC Comics in 1988. 

In that version, the Joker quits his job as a lab assistant and becomes a stand-up comedian to support his pregnant wife. Unsuccessful, he agrees to help mobsters with a robbery and dons the Red Hood, however, the heist goes awry.

The comedian leaps into a chemical vat to escape Batman, surfacing disfigured and this, along with the earlier accidental death of his wife and unborn child, drives the comedian insane and he becomes the Joker. 

The film is due to be released on October 4, 2019.