The question on everyone's lips is: Is this for real or is all just an elaborate hoax? There has been much debate since he announced his intentions to stop acting and it was furthered intensified by the two-time Academy Award nominated actor's appearance on the Late Show With David Letterman on February 11th.
Phoenix on Letterman
On the veteran talk show host's programme, Phoenix appeared sporting a massive Grizzly Adams-esque beard along with a pair of dark sunglasses. For the duration of the interview, which lasts over ten minutes and can be found on a number of U.S. websites, he mumbles through said beard and gives very brief, monosyllabic answers to Letterman's questions. It is evident from early on that is behaviour is quite bizzare and a world away from the clean cut actor who appeared on the same show three years previous.
He had appeared on the show to promote his new film 'Two Lovers', which co-stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Vanessa Shaw and Isabella Rossellini. However, he seemed reluctant to set-up the clip they had for the film, though it should be pointed out that he never watches his own films. Nevertheless, there has undoubtedly been a massive change is his mannerisms and it is hard not to be astonished that the man appearing on Letterman's couch was also the same man from the clip that was shown.
Joaquin Phoenix` Music
When it was revealed that he was to quit acting to focus on music, there no doubt were many people who were disappointed as he is such a highly-regarded actor. Yet, anybody who saw his portrayal as Country/Folk singer Johnny Cash in James Mangold's 'Walk The Line' will have seen a man who clearly had a a gift for music. What really surprised people was when he told the world that he was to take up a career in hip-hop. On the face of it, this seems completely absurd and has predictably led people to question if it was really true. If it turns out that it is just a hoax, then Phoenix will be lauded a genius for deceiving people into believing that he could turn transform himself in this way. Yet, if it turns out that what is happening is real then genuine concerns must be expressed for his health and always about the potential career suicide he may face into.
Casey Affleck`s Documentary
What has also led some to believe that this is a hoax is the fact that his exploits in becoming a hip-hop artist, which includes recording in a studio with Sean 'Puffy' Combs, is being filmed by his brother-in-law Casey Affleck. If he was suffering from mental health or drug addiction, as some have suggested, then it would surely be irresponsible for Affleck to film him. There are those who are suggesting that he is doing something similar to what Andy Kaufman used to do in that he would act really strangely so as to make people believe that he was something that he was not. The parallels with Kaufman don't end there, as Kaufman famously quit acting to take up a career as a 'professional wrestler'. No one believed Kaufman in this either and it was revealed ten years after his death that his feuds with wrestler Jerry "The King" Lawler were all staged, and the two were in fact good friends.
Certainly, there are many people who hope that Phoenix's recent career path is also a hoax because he is such an enormous talent that his loss to cinema would be a major disappointment. His performances in films like Gladiator, Walk The Line, U-Turn, We Own The Night and Buffalo Soldiers show Phoenix to be an actor of remarkable brooding intensity and someone who has the look a movie star, which is always a welcome commodity.
Chances are he will return to acting at some point, he did use the famous 'never say never' phrase on Letterman after all, and we may never know if he did stage this whole thing. Time will only tell though and it will keep people talking until more information is brought to light.
