Joaquin Phoenix is still apologizing for his bizarro appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman in 2009.
A heavily bearded Phoenix was in character as himself, or at least, the version of himself that would star in the mockumentary, I’m Still Here. That movie told the supposedly true story of Phoenix retiring from acting to pursue a hip-hop career, with clips from the Letterman interview as supporting footage.
What resulted was so bizarre that viewers were convinced Phoenix was having a real-life mental breakdown. While Letterman seemed amused at first, the actor’s one-word answers and blank stares grew more irritating as the interview progressed. Finally fed up, Letterman told Phoenix he likely wouldn’t be invited back on the show. Instead, “I’ll come to your house and chew gum.” Phoenix responded by removing a wad from his mouth and sticking it to the Late Show desk.
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The interview concluded with an exasperated Letterman telling the actor, “Joaquin, I’m sorry you couldn’t be here tonight.”
Last night, Phoenix returned to the Late Show studios for the first time since 2010, reminiscing about the “horrible” appearance with Stephen Colbert. “It was so uncomfortable,” he admitted. “I regret it, I’ll never do it again. I’m so sorry.”
But at least Letterman had something of a heads-up, Phoenix says now. “When I came on this show with Dave, I originally did the pre-interview in character, and I realized that it was just a little silly.” The actor says he called Late Show producers to clue them in to the character he intended to play.
“And I just want Dave to like, lacerate me,” he told producers. “I just want it to be really dangerous.”
Everyone else was in the dark, all part of Phoenix’s plan for I’m Still Here. “I just always wanted to get this reaction and see how I would respond to that,” he explained to Colbert. “So it was beneficial for no one to know, except when needed.”
Phoenix returned to Late Show in 2010 to make things right with Letterman. “You’ve interviewed many, many people, and I assumed that you would know the difference between a character and a real person,” he said in his passive-aggressive mea culpa. “But I apologize. I hope I didn’t offend you in any way.”
No apologies necessary, said Letterman, who claimed to have enjoyed belittling Phoenix. “It was batting practice.”
“I was looking for a beatdown,” Phoenix said, “and I got one.”
Looking back on the experience in 2025, the actor sounds unsure if the whole experiment was a good idea. “It was strange because in some ways, it was a success,” Phoenix told Colbert. “And it was also just one of the worst nights of my life.”
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