Everything
Despite overwhelming anticipation for the release of Joker, which drops into Australia cinemas today, celebrated lead Joaquin Phoenix has come under fire for not only walking out of press interviews, but his alleged behaviour on set. As the 44-year-old makes his way across the globe for the promo circuit, his most recent appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show ended awkwardly to say the least.
After speaking to Kimmel on weight loss and spoilers, the Academy Award-nominated actor was confronted with an explosive and expletive behind-the-scenes clip. Seemingly unaware it would air that night, the footage shows Phoenix in character makeup before getting increasingly frustrated with the “constant whispering” while he’s trying to “find something real”. He soon walks off, saying “I can’t do this man.”
Returning back to Phoenix, he was clearly uncomfortable, describing the moment as “embarrassing”. “Sometimes movies get intense. You have a lot of people in a small space and you’re trying to find something,” he responded to the clip. “That was supposed to be private, I’m sorry you guys [the audience] had to see that.”
“I should probably publicly apologise to Larry. I am sorry, but he did whisper constantly while we’re trying to work, and sometimes it’s really hard to find the emotion you’re after… he shouldn’t have done it,” the actor added.
Joker is released into cinemas today. Tune into the controversial outtake below.
