Joaquin Phoenix Speaks Up
In a recent interview in Newsweek, Joaquin Phoenix spoke up about rumours of his so-called "breakdown" on the set of Walk the Line last year. The reports that he was banging his head against a bedpost because the scene reminded him of brother's death are according to him "bullshit."
"You know, the press has kind of imposed upon me the title of Mourning Brother, and because I haven't been vocal about it, the assumption is that I'm holding onto it and all this s—t that's just not there. I don't need to pull from my experience for a character, and I've never understood why actors would, except for lack of ability, imagination or research. I had all three things, so this is a little frustrating to me, because it denies my work and the research that I did." He pauses. "It bothers me that this happens, because it's slightly exploitative. Suggesting that I would use this personal part of my life for a f---ing movie... it kind of makes me sick." ~Newsweek
I mean, if he was channeling the experience everytime he had an emotional scene to do, he would have ended up in the mental hospital long ago instead of rehab. What happened was an unfortunate tragic event and people should quit using it to identifying Joaquin. In every article and news blurb it's always "Joaquin Phoenix, who's brother River died of a drug overdose in front of the Viper Room." Okay people, we got it. Please, let's move on.
I hope there will be more interviews like this one. Maybe soon we'll be reading "Joaquin Phoenix, who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Johnny Cash."
"You know, the press has kind of imposed upon me the title of Mourning Brother, and because I haven't been vocal about it, the assumption is that I'm holding onto it and all this s—t that's just not there. I don't need to pull from my experience for a character, and I've never understood why actors would, except for lack of ability, imagination or research. I had all three things, so this is a little frustrating to me, because it denies my work and the research that I did." He pauses. "It bothers me that this happens, because it's slightly exploitative. Suggesting that I would use this personal part of my life for a f---ing movie... it kind of makes me sick." ~NewsweekI mean, if he was channeling the experience everytime he had an emotional scene to do, he would have ended up in the mental hospital long ago instead of rehab. What happened was an unfortunate tragic event and people should quit using it to identifying Joaquin. In every article and news blurb it's always "Joaquin Phoenix, who's brother River died of a drug overdose in front of the Viper Room." Okay people, we got it. Please, let's move on.
I hope there will be more interviews like this one. Maybe soon we'll be reading "Joaquin Phoenix, who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Johnny Cash."
posted by gypsyfenix at
10:19 AM
2 Comments:
I totally agree with you Dani, we've been Joaquin fans for a long time, and seen his ups and downs....And you're right, it's so aggervating when every article ever written about him always has something about River's death in it.....ok, we get the point, everyone knows River died..Joaquin made the 911 call, but good god, let the man have his own life. The fact that people think that everytime he has to do a emotional scene he has to draw off of his emotions about what happend to his brother...please...anyone that is a true fan of his knows exactly how talented he is, and that when he's making a movie, he's no longer Joaquin, he's the charactor that he's portraying. The really sad thing is that with Walk The Line coming out soon, this is all we're going to be hearing, is how Joaq is so simular to Johnny cause they both lost a brother and yada... yada... yada. Granted, yeah, they did, and ya know what? They both moved on and become one of the best in their respected professions....so maybe they are more alike that we think....Hymie
Thanks for your comments.
See, I understand why a lot of journalists will compare him to his brother and also mention his death, to relate who he is to the public. And Joaq has proven his abilities beyond being just River's brother.
The bad thing is, even fans do it, make constant references to the incident, like he's some weak emotional individual who's too sick to deal with it.
I'm glad he's speaking out about it. He'll probably have to for a while. Then I hope he has the fortitude to tell them to shut up about it once and for all.
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