Joaquin Phoenix Lashes Out At Crew Member On Joker Set, Publicly Apologizes

Joaquin Phoenix is definitely a widely respected actor. He has been part of lots of respected projects. Playing a character as complex as the Joker is challenging. It is more so when you are trying to show a somewhat sympathetic side to one of the major supervillains in the comic book world. As such it’s no surprise that things got really intense on set.

Joaquin Phoenix’s Emotional Outbursts On Set

In an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Phoenix talked about the kind of physical and emotional strains he had to go through for the role of the Joker. This line of questioning later on led to a footage from the Joker. In the footage Phoenix appears to lash out at the cinematographer, Lawrence Star. In the expletive filled clip, Phoenix complains about “The constant whispering“, and tells Larry to “Just shut the fuck up.”

On seeing himself in the clip, Phoenix quiet visibly looked uncomfortable and after issuing a brief public apology to Larry, asked to change the subject.

Joaquin Phoenix Praised For Amazing Performance In Joker

This isn’t the first time things like this have been reported in regards to Phoenix. It has also been said that in the past Phoenix would walk off set in the middle of filming if he felt that the take wasn’t going good enough. Though it might make Joaquin come across as an asshole but director Todd Phillips and some of Phoenix’s co-stars have praised the intensity of the actor. Also, Jimmy Kimmel himself has faced fan criticism for putting Phoenix on the spot in his interview with him.

At the end, Phoenix’s intensity and passion for his work seems to have paid off for Joker. Most early reviews are praising Phoenix’s performance and the movie itself seems to be on a collision course with 100 million just in its opening weekend. Although, one can’t help but feel that this kind of negative view of the actor could have been done intentionally. Especially seeing the character the movie is based on. After all, Joker did use negative criticism to promote itself initially as well. 

Directed by Todd Phillips, Joker is in theatres now.

If you want to see Phoenix’s Jimmy Kimmel interview in full, then click on the video below:

(Source: cbr.com and hindustantimes.com)