Jared Leto says playing the Joker in Suicide Squad was 'very painful'

After months of teasing Jared Leto’s Joker, audiences finally got their first full look at the anticipated Suicide Squad character, thanks to Empire Magazine.

Rocking a purple trench coat over a pair of what appear to be pajama bottoms, Leto's Joker is certainly a reimagining on the classic character, most recently portrayed on film by the late Heath Ledger in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight.

Speaking to the magazine, Leto admitted he and director David Ayer wanted to play around with the Joker's look in the film, and head in a completely different direction than what audiences were used to.

"If you don't break the rules, you're not going to strike new ground," Leto said.

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The actor also spoke for the first time about what taking on a character as sinister and psychotic as the Joker did to his psyche while shooting the film.

"There was definitely a level of ... detachment," he said. "I took a pretty deep dive."

While he did have fun with the role, Leto said it inevitably took a toll on him. At times, playing the character was even painful, with Leto equating the experience to "giving birth out of his prick hole."

Still, Leto reaffirmed that the Joker hasn't lost his maniacal sense of humor or ability to turn the absurdly deranged into black comedy. The new Joker will be more sociable than previous installments and "a very successful and smart businessman," on top of being Gotham's most notable sociopath.

Suicide Squad is scheduled to be released on Aug. 5, 2016. Get acquainted with the team in our overview video below.