Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, refused to respond to either moniker on the set of “Joker: Folie à Deux,” even when cameras weren’t rolling.
Instead, she went by the simple name Lee, possibly a nickname for her DC Comics character, Harley Quinn, whose alter-ego name is Harleen Quinzel.
But during the first week of filming, the movie’s cinematographer, Lawrence Sher, wasn’t in on the name change. Sher, who was nominated for an Oscar for his work on the first “Joker,” typically gives actors their space during filming to allow them to focus on their craft. With Gaga, he said last week on “The Trenches Talk” podcast, Sher noticed he was having a hard time making any connection with her whatsoever.
“I didn’t know Stefani at all,” Sher said in the July 18 episode. “Strangely, I felt like I never even met her, even during the makeup-hair tests. Maybe it was my philosophy of not trying to get in their space. And then I remember for a week, being like, ‘God, I feel like we are disconnecting. Not even connecting. We are like on opposites.’ And I would say to my crew, ‘Jesus, I can’t crack it. She either hates me or we hate each other. There’s something weird going on here.’ ”