Joaquin Phoenix calls infamous David Letterman interview one of the worst nights of his life

Phoenix stayed in character as a bumbling rapper version of himself for the mockumentary I'm Still Here throughout the entirety of the interview.

By Emma Keates  |  July 16, 2025 | 12:30pm
Screenshot: Letterman/YouTube
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Joaquin Phoenix calls infamous David Letterman interview one of the worst nights of his life
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Stars, they’re just like us: sometimes they have terrible nights. What’s slightly less relatable is that occasionally, those terrible nights happen when they’re committing a little too hard to a confounding bit on national television. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to Joaquin Phoenix in his now infamous 2009 interview with David Letterman, in which he stayed in character as an aspiring rapper version of himself the entire time. 

The gag was conceived as a part of the 2010 mockumentary I’m Still Here (no relation to the Oscar-winning 2024 drama of the same name), a divisive project that followed Phoenix’s life after he fake-announced his retirement from acting to pursue a career in hip-hop. (Sean “Diddy” Combs was unfortunately involved.) Some clips from the Letterman interview, which briefly gaslit the world into thinking Phoenix was having a mental breakdown before “our jaded modern sensibilities took over,” as The A.V. Club wrote of the incident in 2010, actually made it into the film. You can watch it below if you need a refresher and/or want to feel uncomfortable for approximately eight minutes:

But while he now hails the interview as “a success” in some ways, Phoenix also regards it as “just one of the worst nights of my life.” 

“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,'” the Eddington actor reflected during a recent, much more normal sitdown with Stephen Colbert. “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.”

He absolutely got a reaction, but the interview itself was “horrible,” he said. “It was so uncomfortable. I regret it, I’ll never do it again. I’m so sorry.”

Letterman did know about the bit in advance, but Phoenix felt the need to apologize one more time on The Late Show after previously issuing one to Colbert’s predecessor when he returned in 2010. “I hope I didn’t offend you in any way,” he said to Letterman at the time. “You’ve interviewed many, many people and I assumed that you would know the difference between a character and a real person, but I apologize.” At least it wasn’t all bad. Phoenix may have had one of the worst nights of his life, but in the aftermath, The A.V. Club characterized the whole affair as “the most worthwhile thing about I’m Still Here.” Sometimes, it’s just a matter of perspective.

 
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