Joaquin Phoenix Says a Director ‘F—ing Pissed Me Off' by Calling Me a ‘Character Actor': It Was Code for ‘You're Never Going to Get There' as a Star
'It's kind of code for like, 'You can't really, like, you're never going to really get there, but you'll work,'' Phoenix said of the director's 'character actor' dig at him. 'And that fucking pissed me off.'But Phoenix added, 'I ultimately appreciate it because it made me go like, 'Well, how do I find that way? Like, how do I find more?''
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Ari Aster on Gruesome 'Eddington' Ending, Full-Frontal Joaquin Phoenix and Soothing His Notorious Anxiety
Box Office: 'Superman' Still on Top as 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' Hooks $5.8 Million Opening Day Ahead of 'Eddington' and 'Smurfs'
Micheal Ward on Finally Having His Cannes Moment With 'Eddington,' What He Learned From 'Cool Cat' Joaquin Phoenix and Why His Next Film Should Excite 'Top Boy' Fans
The actor would go on to be nominated for four Academy Awards, winning the best actor trophy for 'Joker.' He's also been awarded the best actor prize at Cannes for his leading turn in Lynne Ramsay's 'You Were Never Really Here.' Phoenix has fronted major studio films like 'Walk the Line' and 'Signs' while also headlining acclaimed indies like 'Her' and 'The Master.'
Phoenix's latest is 'Eddington,' a COVID-era Western from his 'Beau Is Afraid' writer-director Ari Aster. Similar to their last collaboration, 'Eddington' is proving divisive among film critics and moviegoers. The film struggled in its box office opening but is sure to gain a cult following.
'The movie is about the center not holding, and you feel that refracted through every pleading stammer of Phoenix's alienated, sad-sack performance,' Variety's Owen Gleiberman wrote in his review. 'It's not one of Phoenix's mumbly showboat performances. There's a bitter poignance to Joe, who's in way over his mussy-haired head. When he finally takes matters into his own hands, you keep rooting for him even as he does something indefensible.'
'Eddington' is now playing in theaters nationwide.
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