Lady Gaga oozes glam in black velvet dress after losing 'a lot of weight' says co-star

Lady Gaga looked the epitome of elegance on Wednesday when she rocked up to a photocall at the Venice Film Festival for her new film Joker: Folie à Deux, ahead of the world premiere.

The 38-year-old, who plays Harley Quinn in the second installment of the film, opted against her typical eccentric ensembles, instead choosing a beautiful black velvet dress.

Gaga looked gorgeous in the demure outfit, which boasted a square neckline, long sleeves, a nipped-in waist, and a full, ankle-length skirt.

She accessorized with a chic black Beret, black sunglasses, and towering black platform heels.

The Bad Romance singer was joined by her co-star Joaquin Phoenix, who displayed his new svelte physique in a simple white T-shirt and black pants.

Gaga and Joaquin sat down for a press conference where he spoke about both stars changing their appearances for the movie.

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Joaquin revealed that he found losing weight for his role as Arthur Fleck "complicated" due to the film's dance component – but he wasn't the only one to shed the pounds.

The actor discussed Gaga's dedication to her character and admitted he was "impressed" with how much weight she managed to lose.

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"Stefani also lost a lot of weight. I remember when I first met you in rehearsals and then you went away and when you came back, you lost a lot of weight. It was really impressive," he told reporters.

Gaga didn't divulge her secrets, simply replying: "I think we transformed into our characters over a period of time, and we continued to hone in every kind of detail."

Joaquin sparked controversy in 2020 when he revealed he lost 52lbs eating mainly lettuce and steamed vegetables to transform into his character.

However, this time around he admitted he didn't want to focus the conversation too much on his weight loss.

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"I know I was responsible last time for talking about it, but it's difficult to do so that becomes your obsession because you're working the entire time to get to a certain weight," he said.

"So then you end up talking about it, and then it just sounds like an actor going on and on about how much weight they lost."

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He added: "By the end of that run, I was so sick of myself and angry at myself for making such a big deal about that part because you just do what you're supposed to do. So, this time I was like, 'I'm not going to do that.'"

He did touch upon his change in diet, however, although he claimed he didn't know how much weight he lost this time.

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"I'm not going to talk through specifics of the diet, because I just think nobody wants to hear that," Joaquin said.

"But this time, it felt a bit more complicated just because there was so much dance rehearsal that we were doing, which I didn't have last time."

While he was "safe" when it came to losing the weight to achieve his character's gaunt appearance, Joaquin admitted he likely wouldn't put himself through it again.

"It felt a bit more difficult, but it is safe. But you're right, I'm now 49, I probably shouldn't do this again. This is probably it for me."