Viola Davis lifts the lid on that Jared Leto/Margot Robbie ‘black rat’ prank from Suicide Squad

Leto had previously denied sending his co-star a black rat

Viola Davis has recounted the story of Jared Leto sending Margot Robbie a black rat as a prank during the filming of 2016’s Suicide Squad.

Leto has previously denied the claim, saying that he in fact gave Robbie vegan cinnamon buns. The story is one of many alleged pranks enacted by Leto as he prepared for his role as Batman villain The Joker.

As well as reportedly sending a dead pig to fellow cast members, he also allegedly posted them anal beads and used condoms, was called Mr J on set, and met with real life killers to understand the character’s mentality.

Speaking to BritishVogue for a profile of Robbie, Davis said the rat incident happened during rehearsal.

“I was saying loudly, ‘Don’t open the box!’ I was halfway out the door when [Robbie] opened the box,” said Davis, “and saw the biggest black rat you could imagine.

“Then… she cooed at it. No fear. Open. Receptive. Full of joy.”

Elsewhere in the profile, Robbie describes the adrenaline-filled experience of filming Birds of Prey, for which she revived her Suicide Squad character Harley Quinn. She will also appear as Harley in the forthcoming DC sequel/reboot The Suicide Squad.

“There are explosions and guns firing. And even though they’re blanks, your body starts reacting as if it’s real, your adrenaline’s through the roof.” She added that she finds it hard to sleep after filming “because, well, my body thinks it’s just been in a war zone”.

The Suicide Squad is released on 30 July.