Joaquin Phoenix has expressed regret at an infamous interview he gave with David Letterman in 2009, describing it as “one of the worst nights of my life”.
In 2010, Phoenix made I’m Still Here, a mockumentary that followed a fictional version of the star as he retired from acting and embarked on a chaotic career in hip-hop. The film involved the actor blurring the lines between fact and fiction, living this persona in his day-to-day life to make people think the documentary was real.
One of the highlights of this period was a 2009 appearance on the Late Show With David Letterman, where Phoenix appeared dishevelled, sporting a large beard, sunglasses, and obnoxiously chewing gum. In the eight-minute interview, he gives awkward answers to a clearly annoyed Letterman, and behaved in a way that led the public to believe he was having a breakdown.
The film was a box office flop, and Phoenix would later apologise to Letterman for his behaviour. He returned to the Late Show for the first time since that interview on Tuesday (July 15), this time with Stephen Colbert as host. Despite the time that has passed he confessed he regrets the moment, saying he wanted to provoke a reaction and let the producers of the show know beforehand.
“When I came on this show with Dave, I originally did the pre-interview in character and I realised 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. And I just want Dave to like, lacerate me. I just want it to be really dangerous,’” he said.
“That was the kind of intention — I just always wanted to get this reaction and see how I would respond to that. So, it was beneficial for no one to know, except when needed”.
Despite being planned, Phoenix called the interview “horrible”. “It was so uncomfortable. I regret it, I’ll never do it again. I’m so sorry” he said, before sending a message directly to Letterman. “I don’t know if he’s watching… He might be and I just need to say, I’m sorry”.
He concluded: “It was strange because in some ways, it was a success, and it was also just one of the worst nights of my life”.
Joaquin Phoenix’s career would recover, and the actor would go on to find success in hits such as Her, Napoleon, and Joker, the latter of which would win him Best Actor at the Academy Awards. He would, however, make headlines last year for dropping out of an untitled film by director Todd Haynes, just days before filming was set to begin.
In December, the filmmaker would reflect on the incident, which eventually led to production shutting down. Haynes said “What happened this summer was tough, but the film itself and the script itself may resurrect in a different form someday”.