NEED TO KNOW
Joaquin Phoenix is looking back on his infamous February 2009 interview with David Letterman on The Late Show with some feelings of embarrassment.
Phoenix, who is currently promoting his new movie Eddington, appeared on the Tuesday, July 15 episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where he and the host recounted that awkward live television moment after Colbert remarked that Phoenix had not appeared on the program in 15 years.
“Yeah, it was strange, because in some ways it was a success and it was also just one of the worst nights of my life,” Phoenix, 50, recalled, after he and Colbert, 61, explained to the audience that Phoenix memorably appeared on Letterman’s show in character while he filmed a mockumentary titled I’m Still Here with Casey Affleck. At the time, Phoenix had announced publicly that he was retiring from acting and transitioning to a hip-hop music career in service of making the documentary.
Scott Kowalchyk/CBS
“As part of the promotion for a film that I had made, I was coming on the show, and so I was stuck,” Phoenix explained to Colbert, after noting that he had already begun adopting the mockumentary persona in public prior to appearing on Letterman’s show to promote a movie titled Two Lovers. “I had to keep it going.”
“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,” Phoenix explained. “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.’ ”
Because Phoenix was trying to draw a particular “reaction” from the public while performing in that persona for the mockumentary, he felt “it was beneficial for no one to know except when needed,” which led to a bizarre back-and-forth between him and Letterman that saw Phoenix answer questions slowly and provide short answers.
“It was horrible, it was so uncomfortable, I regret it,” Phoenix told Colbert of the appearance. “I’ll never do it again. I’m so sorry.” When Colbert noted that he was unsure if Letterman, 78, was watching Phoenix’s July 15 appearance, Phoenix added, “He might be, and I just need to say I’m sorry.”
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Phoenix did appear on Letterman’s Late Show one more time after that 2009 interview; he returned in September 2010 for a follow-up interview. “I imagine they did like a major exorcism after I left,” Phoenix quipped to Colbert about his last visit to the show.
Phoenix’s new movie Eddington, which costars Pedro Pascal, Austin Butler and Emma Stone, is in theaters July 18.
