{"id":864729,"date":"2025-07-25T03:17:07","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T08:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/25\/joaquin-phoenix-says-a-director-f-ing-pissed-me-off-by-calling-me-a-character-actor-it-was-code-for-youre-never-going-to-get-there\/"},"modified":"2025-07-25T03:17:07","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T08:17:07","slug":"joaquin-phoenix-says-a-director-f-ing-pissed-me-off-by-calling-me-a-character-actor-it-was-code-for-youre-never-going-to-get-there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/25\/joaquin-phoenix-says-a-director-f-ing-pissed-me-off-by-calling-me-a-character-actor-it-was-code-for-youre-never-going-to-get-there\/","title":{"rendered":"Joaquin Phoenix Says a Director \u2018F\u2014ing Pissed Me Off\u2019 by Calling Me a \u2018Character Actor\u2019: It Was Code for \u2018You\u2019re Never Going to Get There\u2019 as a Star"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVariety via Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n\tDon\u2019t tell Joaquin Phoenix<\/a> he\u2019s not a star. The Oscar winner recently appeared on Theo Von\u2019s \u201cThis Past Weekend\u201d podcast<\/a> (via Entertainment Weekly<\/a>) during his \u201cEddington<\/a>\u201d press tour and remembered a director telling him on set early in his career that all he would ever be is simply a \u201ccharacter actor.\u201d Phoenix\u2019s co-star at the time compared him to a higher-profile actor, to which the director butted in and shot down the comparison.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s kind of code for like, \u2018You can\u2019t really, like, you\u2019re never going to really get there, but you\u2019ll work,’\u201d Phoenix said of the director\u2019s \u201ccharacter actor\u201d dig at him. \u201cAnd that fucking pissed me off.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Phoenix added, \u201cI ultimately appreciate it because it made me go like, \u2018Well, how do I find that way? Like, how do I find more?’\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\tPopular on Variety\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\tThe actor would go on to be nominated for four Academy Awards, winning the best actor trophy for \u201cJoker.\u201d He\u2019s also been awarded the best actor prize at Cannes for his leading turn in Lynne Ramsay\u2019s \u201cYou Were Never Really Here.\u201d Phoenix has fronted major studio films like \u201cWalk the Line\u201d and \u201cSigns\u201d while also headlining acclaimed indies like \u201cHer\u201d and \u201cThe Master.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tPhoenix\u2019s latest is \u201cEddington,\u201d a COVID-era Western from his \u201cBeau Is Afraid\u201d writer-director Ari Aster. Similar to their last collaboration, \u201cEddington\u201d is proving divisive among film critics and moviegoers. The film struggled in its box office opening but is sure to gain a cult following.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe movie is about the center not holding, and you feel that refracted through every pleading stammer of Phoenix\u2019s alienated, sad-sack performance,\u201d Variety\u2019s <\/em>Owen Gleiberman wrote in his review<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s not one of Phoenix\u2019s mumbly showboat performances. There\u2019s a bitter poignance to Joe, who\u2019s in way over his mussy-haired head. When he finally takes matters into his own hands, you keep rooting for him even as he does something indefensible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cEddington\u201d is now playing in theaters nationwide.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\t\tMore from Variety<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n