Actor Clint Eastwood was rumored to be working with Joker star Joaquin Phoenix on a project that later went to Leonardo DiCaprio. But Eastwood took the time to address the speculation, and why it was wrong.
How Clint Eastwood responded to working with Joaquin Phoenix
Eastwood and DiCaprio teamed up to tell the story of J. Edgar Hoover in the titular feature J. Edgar. In an interview with The New York Times, DiCaprio shared that he jumped at the opportunity to do the film. Partially because it presented some unique challenges for his career.
“When I can’t immediately define the character, and there’s an element of mystery to it and still a lot to be explored, that’s when I say yes,” DiCaprio said. “I like those kinds of complicated characters. I just do.”
Likewise, Eastwood was impressed by DiCaprio’s willingness to play more unconventional roles given the star’s status.
“Leonardo could make a lot of money making mechanical genre pictures, but he wants to be challenged,” Eastwood added. “And it’s much more of a challenge to play someone who doesn’t have the slightest thing in common with you.”
There were also rumors that Phoenix was going to co-star in the film as DiCaprio’s lover. But Eastwood was quick to shoot down the reports, and referenced Phoenix’s fictional side career.
“No. I don’t know where that came from,” Eastwood once told Reuters. “Didn’t he become a rapper?”
Joaquin Phoenix thought playing a rapper would backfire on him
It was soon revealed that Phoenix’s rap career was all a part of the Casey Affleck mockumentary I’m Still Here. The movie required Phoenix to stay in character as much as possible, misleading real-life fans into thinking the actor was having a breakdown. In an interview with Roger Ebert, Affleck explained why it was so important to keep their true intentions hidden from the general public.
“The reason it was MADE without comment and with Joaquin in character when in public was because the media plays a role in the film and the media would not have played their role as well as they did had it been acknowledged that Joaquin was only performing,” Affleck said.
Phoenix, however, worried that his antics might have dramatic consequences for his career.
“The only thing that bothered me was that it might be difficult for me to work again as I wasn’t retiring and I wanted to continue to make films. So the only thing that gave me pause was the fact it might really affect my career,” Phoenix said in an interview with Shortlist.
Fortunately, it seemed that Phoenix had nothing to worry about, and his career continued to thrive even after I’m Still Here.
Joaquin Phoenix received help from Diddy to pass as a rapper for ‘I’m Still Here’
Not very many celebrities were in on Phoenix’s and Affleck’s farce. Diddy was one of the few aware of the secret, and convincingly played along to add authenticity to Affleck’s vision. To further his rap career, Phoenix pretended to follow the hip hop mogul‘s guidance ,which was all an elaborate ruse.
“So we went to his house and it was just like, ‘Will you do this?’ and he said, ‘Yeah, I’ve got to go to this party, then I’ll go and meet you and we’ll do a scene in the hotel,’” Phoenix told Interview about his exchange with Diddy. “So I said, ‘Look, can we also just get you when you’re leaving right now? We’re just going to pretend that we’re pulling up to your house and that you’re leaving and that I missed the appointment, I missed the meeting.’”