Is ‘Suicide Squad’ So Dark The Cast Needs Therapy? Director Reportedly Hires Therapist For Will Smith, Jared Leto And Rest Of Cast

For actors, getting into the mind of a character can sometimes have negative side effects, especially when that character is an evil villain. This is something that the cast and crew of the upcoming film, Suicide Squad, know firsthand. In fact, Adam Beach, who plays Slipnot in the movie, recently discussed how director David Ayer had a therapist on staff for the cast while the movie was filmed.

“David Ayer is about realism,” Adam Beach told E! Online.

“So if your character is tormented, he wants you to torment yourself. He wants the real thing. We kind of have like a therapist on board if you fall off the wagon and really are villainous. There’s a friend of [Ayer] that’s very unique in making sure we have our ground.”

Beach went on to say that sometimes actors go to very dark places when exploring unique roles, and the therapist helped ensure that everyone finished this film in a timely manner.

“Us actors explore very fine thin lines going to the dark side and he wants to make sure we finish a movie and don’t disappear somewhere and then don’t show up for work.”

Suicide Squad centers on a group of villains who are tasked with completing top secret government missions in exchange for reduced sentences. The film’s villains include the Joker (Jared Leto), Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), and Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman).

While Beach discussed how actors sometimes go too far when playing villainous roles, he also talked about Leto’s portrayal of the Joker. In addition to playing such a crazy and deranged character, Beach stated that Leto sent his fellow co-stars some strange gifts prior to filming. The offerings included a few bullets to Smith, a live rat to Robbie, and dead hog for the rest of the cast.

In addition to the gifts, Leto also sent everyone a video of himself in character, letting them know why he couldn’t make it for the pre-production work.

“Basically, what he said was, ‘Guys, I can’t be there but I want you to know I’m doing my work as hard as you guys,’ ” Beach explained in the interview. “The video he showed is in character. It blew our minds away. Then we realized that day, this is real.”

Suicide Squad is set to hit theaters August 5, 2016.

[Image Courtesy: David Ayers via Twitter]