Joaquin Phoenix Once Said What He Hates the Most About His Performances is His Acting
Actor Joaquin Phoenix has cemented his legacy as one of the film industry’s most skilled actors in projects like Joker and Gladiator. But Phoenix asserted that he’s also one of his own worst critics when it comes to movie-making.
Joaquin Phoenix once shared that he couldn’t stand his acting
Many have praised Phoenix for his on-screen acting abilities. He’s even recently won an Academy Award for Best Actor thanks to his contributions to Joker. But Phoenix hasn’t always had the same confidence in his own skills. His critiques were one of the reasons why he couldn’t stand watching himself in films.
“I feel I’m guilty of trying too hard to make sure you understand,” Phoenix once said according to South China Morning Post.
Still, Phoenix tried to watch himself in films a few times. But he typically had the same reaction.
“Not too long ago I was flipping through the movie channels and there was a movie [I was in] that I’d never seen,” he continued. “I watched it, and I was garbage. It just felt like I was working. I saw so much acting I was really embarrassed by it.”
The last movie he’d watched at the time was due to director Paul Thomas Anderson pushing Phoenix to watch his own performances. But once again, Phoenix couldn’t do it.
“It was so crushing. I was like, ‘Ok, you’re right. I should be able to watch it and not be a…coward and just go, ‘Oh, that did or didn’t work.’ I manned up for a little bit,” he said. “And then I didn’t have the courage to finish it. I turned it off.”
Joaquin Phoenix’s hoax film helped liberate him as an actor
There was a point where Phoenix became a bit disillusioned with the art of acting itself. This was mostly because the veteran star was beginning to question his own approach to his work.
“Part of why I was frustrated with acting was because I took it so seriously,” Phoenix said in a 2012 interview with Time. “I want it to be so good that I get in my own way. It’s like love: when you fall in love, you’re not yourself anymore. You lose control of being natural and showing the beautiful parts of yourself, and all somebody recognizes is this total desperation. And that’s very unattractive.”
The film I’m Still Here might have helped Phoenix find his love for acting again. The feature was famous for the actor’s commitment to his role, pretending to be an aspiring rapper who planned to quit Hollywood. His performance stirred up much controversy in the media, which was its intended effect.
“Once I became a total buffoon, it was so liberating,” he said.
Phoenix had such a good time making I’m Still Here that he considered it one of his career highlights.
“That experience is definitely in the top five – or maybe the best acting experience – I ever had,” he said. “I learnt to let go, partly because there was no time to make a chance.”
Joaquin Phoenix still thinks about the movies that he’s ruined
In an interview with Fandango, the Signs star confided that he tries to live in the present, but occasionally he still reflected on his prior films. On many occasions, Phoenix looked back on his past efforts with a bit of guilt.
“I do still think about those movies and I go, f***, I f***ed that up. Oh! I f***ed it up,” he said. “It’s really hard, man. I don’t think I ever really get to a place even while we’re working where I go, like, I got it. I get what this is.”
