NEW YORK — For the second time in the 2000s, an actor has savagely, insanely and brilliantly brought the Joker to life as the ultimate villain in a comic book movie. First it was Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight; now it is Jared Leto in Suicide Squad.

Ledger famously and tragically won a posthumous Oscar for his performance in the second film of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. Leto makes his Joker debut Friday when David Ayer’s Suicide Squad opens — and the 44-year-old Leto is jacked up, wildly excited and totally apprehensive about the fan reaction!

“I hope it’s an introduction (of the Joker) … and not the end!” Leto says in an exclusive one-on-one interview — the only interview he has granted this day to any journalist from the U.S. and Canada. “Because I could easily just play the Joker a couple more times and then retire. Because it’s so fulfilling and so creative and it’s so imaginative. It’s really difficult to think about doing anything else!”

Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment has yet to make pronouncements. But Leto has his own singular goal — getting The Joker into the proposed standalone Batman movie starring the current Dark Knight actor, Ben Affleck.

“I think it would be incredible to see Batman and the Joker go head-to-head! This Batman and this Joker. I mean, I don’t know, that might be too much! But that would be fun.”

The Louisiana-born Leto had a lot more to say about the fun of playing the character and the fate of the Joker in the DC Extended Universe. “You are my first interview since I played the Joker,” Leto says. He has been bursting at the seams about it since spending more than five months rehearsing and then shooting Suicide Squad in Toronto in 2015.

During the entire shoot, Leto remained “method” and stayed in character on-set, starting with the rehearsal period. While I personally sat in the Joker’s fuchsia car one day (and only a stuntman could drive this thing because you could barely see over the dashboard), I never saw Leto as the Joker on-set. He kept away from all visiting media then in Toronto. Today, in the bowels of Moynihan Station in lower Manhattan, we are surrounded by a display of Suicide Squad costumes, artifacts and parts of the set shipped in from Toronto. But the actor has now shed The Joker and is all Leto — a thoughtful, articulate and quietly shy man with piercing blue eyes. Here is what he had to say:

Why is the Joker so iconic as a villain?

“I think the Joker is iconic for a number of reasons. He was the perfect villain from the start for Batman’s hero. You obviously wouldn’t have the success of the Joker without Batman. They are two sides to a coin. Batman is the stoic, restrained, thoughtful, black-and-white character, figuratively and literally. He is stiff, a suit of armour without colour and much celebration. And the Joker is the complete opposite of that!”

In 2015, with 75 year of comics, films and TV shows to research, what became the inspiration for your Joker?

“You could draw on anything. You have such a rich set of tools to use and places to draw from. I did a lot of research; I did a lot of educating myself. But, at a certain point, I realized I needed to stop and just let my imagination run wild. That’s what’s great about the Joker: He’s living in a fantasy world and it’s a character with no rules. There is no wrong answer for the Joker. There was nothing I can do in a take that would be inappropriate. He can do anything. The Earth, the moon, the sun all revolve around him. His ‘truth’ is the ultimate reality. So that’s incredible — to play that kind of character.”

How did the memory of Heath Ledger’s Joker affect you, along with the work of other actors?

“The good thing about there having been such strong, beautiful interpretations of the character before — by actors, artists and writers — is that you knew what direction not to head in. That’s already been covered! You know, Heath gave a perfect performance. Not only one of the best villains ever on screen, but I believe one of the best performances ever! It’s perfect. It’s just perfect. There’s not a flaw. There’s not a missed note. There’s not a moment when you’re not with him and the character. For me, it was so untouchable that, at a certain point, I was almost at ease because I knew there was nothing I could do to go near that! And then you’ve got Jack Nicholson and then you’ve got this beautiful voice acting from Mark Hamill (for the animated versions). But they’re all so different. They’re all their own thing. So I still felt the pressure to deliver but I also felt that there was such a map of where we shouldn’t be going.”

Where does the Joker appear next? In Justice League?

“Well, I plan on returning as the Joker whether they (Warner Bros and the DC producers) like it or not! So you may see me at a theme park or something, I don’t know. Or on Hollywood Blvd., accepting donations for photos. I don’t know yet, but I think it is all up to audiences. If audiences respond to the Joker and they want more, I’m pretty sure that they’re going to get what they want!”

So, does that mean the Joker is going to be in a Suicide Squad sequel?

“If people like it enough. But, you know, the Joker’s not officially in the Suicide Squad, so they could make another Suicide Squad movie and have somebody else (as the wild card villain). And I would be sad not to be part of the fun.”

Fans have the notion that the Joker is Jason Todd, who is Batman’s Robin; or that Joker killed Robin, as in one comic book storyline. There are a lot conspiracy theories. What do you think?

“I didn’t pay attention to it much. I don’t think you can follow all of that. There is too much information — and misinformation. So I just tuned out and just focused on the work. I do think it’s incredible that people are so passionate about this stuff. It blows my mind!”

Why? And do you respect the fans?

“I’m in a band (Thirty Seconds to Mars, formed with his brother Shannon Leto in 1998). So, for me, this kind of commitment and passion from audiences — that’s normal. Because that’s what we’ve always had around our band. We may not have been as popular as other bands, or as big as some bands, but we’ve always had a fanatical family of believers. So this feels like that same sort of thing, where it’s a lifestyle.”

Why doesn’t Suicide Squad tell the Joker’s backstory, as it does with many of the Squad members, including the Joker’s girlfriend Harley Quinn?

“You know, I think a little mystery goes a long way. I like that the Joker’s a bit elusive. I like the fact that we don’t know very much about him or where he’s from … yet!”

Why did you, as the Joker, send “gifts” to your Suicide Squad co-stars during rehearsal, including a suitcase full of bullets for Will Smith’s Deadshot, a live rat for Margot Robbie’s Harley and a dead pig for the whole Squad? Especially because you sent it through Mr. Frost (actor Jim Parrack)?

“I made a video in the beginning, too, and that’s how I introduced myself to all of them (as the Joker)… I also wrote them all handwritten notes. No one’s talked about it. I don’t know if anyone knows that yet. I wrote them all little poems, in the manner of the Joker. This was a procedural. For me, it was about finding answers to the questions: How do we do that? How do you get a henchman to even deliver something like that? What is the video message? So (as he recalls thinking at the time) there is a deadline and I better start to get ‘the voice’ down for myself. There were a lot of tactical reasons that that was a great exercise. It started the game! It was a spark!”

Twitter: @Bruce_Kirkland

BKirkland@postmedia.com