Joaquin Phoenix appeared Wednesday on Late Show with David Letterman and this time around he looked like a regular guy with all of his mental faculties intact.
As expected, the actor had a thing or two to say about the bizarre behavior that he exhibited during his now infamous sit-down with David Letterman back in February 2009.
Revealed not long ago was the fact that Phoenix staged an elaborate long-term hoax that involved a shaggy beard and overall scruffy look, coupled with a spacey demeanor. He allegedly “quit” acting to launched a rap career. Now we find out it was simply a piece of performance art.
Joaquin and filmmaker Casey Affleck created the fake documentary I’m Still Here, recently released in theaters. He is hitting the talk show circuit to discuss the ruse and reestablish himself within the acting community.
The celeb was somewhat critical of how it was perceived: “We’d hoped to come on a talk show, and I was looking for a beat down, and I got one … I want to thank you for that. Afterward, the movie comes out, the critics like to say ‘this is crazy, this is disturbing, this is sick.’ But while it’s happening, people were happy just to mock him and make fun of him.”
Phoenix provided an apology of sorts to the late night talk show host, with a hint of chastisement thrown in for good measure: “You’ve interviewed many, many people and I assumed that you would know the difference between a character and a real person, so – but I apologize. I hope I didn’t offend you in any way.”
Check it out on the two-part video below:
Photos: WENN