Joaquin Phoenix apologizes for infamous Letterman interview, says Dave was in on it

It’s not easy to give Crispin Glover a run for his money in the oddball department, but Joaquin Phoenix gave it a go when he appeared on Late Show with David Letterman in 2009 while he was promoting Two Lovers. Bearded, shaded and completely disinterested, Phoenix was the ultimate anti-interviewee, sitting through Letterman’s digs about the Unabomber and the audience’s awkward laughs. We learned later on that the whole gag was tied to Casey Affleck’s mockumentary I’m Still Here. Now, Joaquin Phoenix is apologizing for the whole Letterman debacle.

Appearing on Stephen Colbert’s iteration of Late Show (via Variety), Joaquin Phoenix admitted that his eight-minute interview with Letterman was nothing but a “horrible” experience, adding, “It was so uncomfortable. I regret it, I’ll never do it again. I’m so sorry.” He would then give a specific apology to Letterman through the airwaves. He went on to say, “It was strange because in some ways, it was a success, and it was also just one of the worst nights of my life.”

Joaquin Phoenix would go on to give more backstory on the infamous interview with Letterman, saying more were in on it than initially thought. “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, so I called them back and I said, ‘Listen, this is what I’m doing. I’m coming out here and I’m doing this whole thing. And I just want Dave to like, lacerate me. I just want it to be really dangerous. That was the kind of intention — I just always wanted to get this reaction and see how I would respond to that. So it was beneficial for no one to know, except when needed.”

Today, Joaquin Phoenix’s appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman stands as one of the strangest moments in talk show history. Sure, Glover almost kicking his head off, Farrah Fawcett’s incoherent sitdown and his spat with Harvey Pekar are infamous in their own right, but that this one was planned and blindsided audiences across the globe makes it unique all on its own.

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