In the year 2000, the world was introduced to Russell Crowe, the Australian actor that astounded critics and viewers with his gruelling portrayal of a warrior, slave and GLADIATOR in Ridley Scott’s Oscar winning film. But our sights were also set on an up and coming thespian—Joaquin Phoenix. Phoenix quickly boasted further achievements by working with M.Night Shyamalan in Signs and The Village and earning a best actor nomination for his performance as Johnny Cash in Walk The Line. His reserved persona and natural charisma generated a legion of fans and a positive relationship with critics and studios alike. Is it because of these highly admirable traits that we are unable to grasp the concept of Joaquin Phoenix as a presumably meth addicted, eccentric, incomprehensible rap star? A couple of months ago, Phoenix claimed that ‘Two Lovers’ would be his final film and that he was going to retire from acting in order to pursue a music career. With the relatively recent death of his brother and well known difficult childhood, many assumed Phoenix had become fed up with the film industry and its often hypocritical standpoints. None of us however were ready for what came next.
In the past month Joaquin has become the face of tabloid news reports and psychological analysis. He has embraced a new rap career by performing at various events with rhymes that can only be interpreted as gibberish. During these concerts he has fallen offstage and got into a fist fight with an audience member. Both links can be found below.
Falling Off The Stage:
He is jumping up and down and acts like a complete buffoon
Fistfight:
I can hear him mumble a bunch of F bombs until he finally gets too angry
Additionally, during an interview with David Letterman, Joaquin showcased his peculiar behaviour by constantly mumbling, spitting out gum and getting angry when the audience laughed. Letterman even announced during the show “We’re sorry Joaquin couldn’t be here tonight.” Here’s the link to that interview:
If anyone watched the Oscars, they’d have noticed Ben Stiller doing an interpretation of this interview and aimlessly roaming the stage.
This new persona that Joaquin Phoenix has embraced has caused various discussions and debates surrounding its legitimacy. Many fans (including myself) believe that it emulates an Andy Kaufman-esque style which can more commonly be associated with Sacha Baron Cohen and Borat. Essentially it means that he is attempting to make a mockumentary out of this entire nonsense and satirically show the media’s obsession with controversy. However, if this is not the case and Joaquin has truly gone crazy all I can say is that it is a shame to see such a powerful actor fade into obscurity. Whatever substance he may be taking—please identify it immediately so no one else can undergo what can only be described as one of the most unusual things I have ever seen.
If you are unfamiliar with Joaquin before this abnormal episode of his, take a look at the sane, ordinary man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFbiNwrBILU
Great article - that's really shitty that he's gone down the drain like that though. That rapping was nonsense...
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