Joaquin Phoenix is in an awkward spot after Jimmy Kimmel airs Joker outtake

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Joaquin Phoenix has become known for often intense performances in movies like THE MASTER and WALK THE LINE, and he seems to be going further than he ever has before in the new JOKER movie. An actor like that certainly has their own process when bringing the character to life on set, and in a new outtake from the set of JOKER, Phoenix is seen doing anything but clowning around when he goes off on a crew member for distracting him while getting into the mind of the Clown Prince of Crime.

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Phoenix, who isn’t one to dive into the typical late-night banter, talked openly with Jimmy Kimmel last night about making the movie, and even shared how into it he was when his family was debating the movie’s themes. But he seamlessly shifted to slight awkwardness when being told he’s a “mysterious guy”, and even so when Kimmel joked about the actor’s past enthusiasm for break dancing. But Phoenix got more than he bargained for when Kimmel broke out an outtake director Todd Phillips sent him. In the clip, Phoenix is seen going off at a crew person named “Larry”, who was apparently whispering during filming and calling the actor “Cher” to other people (via Variety).

“The constant whispering, just shut the [ bleep ] up dude. I’m trying to like find something real. [ bleep ] dude. [ bleep ]. Sorry, [ bleep ]. It’s not a big deal. It’s not a big deal. Yeah, it kinda is. [ bleep ]. I know you started the [ bleep ] Cher thing, Larry. [ bleep ] making fun of me. Like I’m a [ bleep ] diva. It’s not even an insult. Cher, really? Singer, actor, dancer, fashion icon — how’s that a [ bleep ] insult? [ bleep ] I can’t do this, man.”

Watch for yourself below:

Phoenix, caught in a bit of an awkward spot, revealed that “Larry” was cinematographer Lawrence Sher before admitting “This is so embarrassing.” “Look, sometimes, sometimes movies get intense, because you’re a lot of people in a small space and you’re trying to find something. So you can feel intense, but um, that was supposed to be private. I’m a little embarrassed. Sorry about that. Sorry you guys had to see that.”

This puts a visual to Phillips saying in a past interview that Phoenix would sometimes get frustrated and walk off set in the middle of the scene. "In the middle of the scene, he’ll just walk away and walk out. And the poor other actor thinks it’s them and it was never them — it was always him, and he just wasn’t feeling it," he said.

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This is a bit different than just "not feeling" the scene, but it should be noted Phoenix has been one to dabble in performance art. Back in 2009, the actor had a bit of a moment while speaking with David Letterman, leading up to Casey Affleck's I'M STILL HERE, which followed Phoenix as he left acting behind to pursue a rap career.

While the clip and the moment itself seem legit, this instance of showing it on Kimmel appears to be for the sake of a bit of self-deprecation. Phoenix probably genuinely feels embarrassed, but now it's something that they felt was worth laughing about. Still, it just adds to what has been a bizarre press run-up to the movie, with Phillips sparking some reactions after making comments about "woke culture" the other day. At this point, the publicity around the movie has been so extreme that everyone probably feels like they have to see it or be left out of the conversation, and so if the aim was to heighten that even more, I guess showing Phoenix go off on a crew person is one way to do it.

JOKER is in theaters this Friday.