Why Viola Davis wanted to pepper spray Jared Leto

Viola Davis was ready to pepper spray Jared Leto after he sent her a box of bullets.

The 50-year-old actress - who stars as Amanda Waller in the hotly-anticipated Suicide Squad movie - admitted the strange gifts Jared sent while getting in to character as The Joker freaked her out during filming.

She told E! News: "It was a little worrisome. It made you a little bit nervous and I'm pretty tough. You know I got into a few fights when I was growing up...but it scared me a little bit."

Jared Leto as The Joker in the movie Suicide Squad.

Viola later met Jared at a party after filming finished and was happy to get to know him out of character.

She said: "Before that I was only introduced to The Joker...and I almost had my pepper spray out. You know, 'You remember that bullet you sent me?'"

Viola is not the only Suicide Squad star to receive a weird gift from Jared, 44.

The Oscar winning actor threw himself into the role of The Joker and "did a lot of things to create a dynamic to create an element of surprise" including sending them used condoms and anal beads.

He previously said: "I did a lot of things to create a dynamic to create an element of surprise, a spontaneity and to really break down any kind of walls that may be there. The Joker is somebody who doesn't really respect things like personal space or boundaries."

Co-star Margot Robbie said: "I got so many weird things. I can't even begin to tell you the weird things I got," while Will Smith added: "He went full Joker. He really set the tone. He wasn't playing with it. He was dead serious as an actor. He was going in and he was 100 per cent going into this character."

But Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who received "sticky Playboy magazines" from Jared, claimed the gross gifts, including a dead pig, helped the cast to bond.

He explained: "That was a good gift because it had the effect of unifying us as a group because then it became us against him. We sent the messenger back with the dead pig and our own personalised message. It got the ball rolling."

- Bang! Showbiz