Joaquin Phoenix has certainly wowed audiences with his masterful performances in films like in Joker, Walk the Line and Her. His big-screen ventures aside, though, it's hard to forget one of his small-screen appearances, as he's linked to one of David Letterman's funniest talk show moments. At the time, the star appeared completely in character to promote his mockumentary, I’m Still Here. 16 years after that notoriously disastrous interview, the 2020 Academy Award winner is trying to explain what was going on in his head.
Back in 2009, Joaquin Phoenix looked and acted unrecognizable on The Late Show with David Letterman. Wearing dark shades covering his eyes and sporting a straggly beard, the Gladiator actor appeared very expressionless as he spoke to the host about retiring from acting to become a hip-hop artist. Originally thought to be a true documentary, I’m Still Here (which is streamable with a Prime Video subscription) covers that supposed career change, which involves him working with Diddy.
A year and a half later, Joaquin Phoenix returned to The Late Show (fully shaved) and admitted that the persona he adopted during the interview was all a hoax to promote his mockumentary. Being a Joaquin Phoenix fan myself, I can certainly say that I was happy to hear he wasn’t actually retiring from acting. While on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert this week, Phoenix elaborated on what happened all those years ago and recalled the feeling of being “stuck":
When I came on the show with Dave, I originally did the pre-interview in character, and I realized that it was just a little silly. So, I called them back and I said, 'Listen, this is what I'm doing. I'm coming out here and I'm doing this whole thing. I just want Dave to like lacerate me. I just want it to be really dangerous.'
David Letterman sure didn’t hold back during his interview with the seemingly out-of-it Joaquin Phoenix. He asked the star questions about his “days with the Unabomber” and wittily assumed Phoenix was "taking a little time off tonight." The host’s famously closed things out when he told Phoenix, “I’m sorry you could be here tonight,” which actually made the actor smile the only time during his appearance on the show.
While speaking with Stephen Colbert, Phoenix continued to talk about his mission of staying in his bizarre persona to get a “reaction” from the audience. Of course, that meant telling no one that his abnormal behavior was all an act. While the Beau is Afraid actor gave a convincing performance during his Letterman interview, he said he would never repeat the type of method acting again:
It was horrible. It was so uncomfortable. I regret it. I’ll never do it again. I’m so sorry.
Like Stephen Colbert said, even though Joaquin Phoenix looked back at that memorable moment in embarrassment, the Golden Globe winner did get what he wanted by giving audiences “great TV.” They were definitely filled with laughter when taking in all of the awkward, short answers Phoenix provided while in character. With that, I'd say mission accomplished.
It would be an understatement to say that as an artist Joaquin Phoenix is a risk-taker, and his interview with David Letterman is a true testament to that. The actor does indeed deserve credit for putting himself out there. At present, Phoenix is still putting on great performances for the big screen. In fact, fans can catch his 2025 movie release, the contemporary western Eddington, in theaters on July 18th.
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