Hollywood star Joaquin Phoenix has always stood apart from his contemporaries with the kind of roles and characters he has played. The actor has also taken many risks with regard to his career including allegedly retiring from the industry in 2008 to pursue his dreams to be a singer and a rap artist by teaming up with rapper Diddy.
Around this time, Phoenix created a stir amidst fans and critics for his odd-ball behavior in public. Later, it was revealed that the Gladiator star’s supposed career shift was actually a hoax as the actor was in the process of playing a character for a film directed by Casey Affleck. This form of method acting though almost resulted in the sabotage of his profession.
Joaquin Phoenix Was Unsure Of Finding Work After I’m Still Here
In 2010, Joaquin Phoenix starred in Casey Affleck’s I’m Still Here, a fictionalized mockumentary version of his life as an actor in which he went for an extreme career change. In a unique approach, Affleck and his protagonist decided to keep the filming under wraps from the public with Phoenix adopting an intriguing form of method acting. This involved the Walk the Line star making questionable and controversial statements in interviews and shows as part of being in character for the film.
It was Affleck’s intention to bring out the nuances of the role and the reactions to it organically which therefore warranted a secretive form of filming despite the huge risks it entailed. Addressing the aftermath of this out-of-the-box tactic that he and Affleck incorporated, Phoenix said,
“The only thing that bothered me was that it might be difficult for me to work again as I wasn’t retiring and I wanted to continue to make films. So the only thing that gave me pause was the fact it might really affect my career,”
With Casey Affleck’s alternative approach to filmmaking and Joaquin Phoenix’s acceptance of the same, Im Still There went on to become a hit with fans and critics and justified both celebrities’ wholehearted passion for the project.
I’m Still Here Was A Liberating Film For Joaquin Phoenix
Despite taking a huge risk in his career with I’m Still Here, Hollywood star Joaquin Phoenix confessed that the benefits of doing the film outweighed all the risks it entailed. The Joker star elaborated on the freedom he felt when letting go of his apprehensions completely and submitting to his craft without fear of judgement which led him to become a better actor.
“Part of why I was frustrated with acting was because I took it so seriously. I want it to be so good that I get in my own way. It’s like love: when you fall in love, you’re not yourself anymore. You lose control of being natural and showing the beautiful parts of yourself, and all somebody recognizes is this total desperation. And that’s very unattractive. Once I became a total buffoon, it was so liberating.”
The Oscar winner went on to add that this experimental feature with Casey Affleck was a stepping stone to expanding his creativity as an actor which then resulted in him going out of his comfort zone many times for his future films.
Source: Shortlist
