Joaquin Phoenix’s embarrassment at being compared to the greats: “There’s no empirical evidence”
The easiest way to avoid being compared to some of the greatest actors is not to set about becoming one of the greatest actors, advice Joaquin Phoenix seems determined to discard based on the reputation he’s attained during the last two decades.
He doesn’t want to be known as one of his generation’s finest performers, but he’s done an awful job of preventing it from happening by being so consistently and reliably excellent. Sometimes, his movies aren’t up to much, but one thing that can always be relied on is Phoenix’s work in front of the camera.
His breakthrough role that served as the catalyst for his rise up the ranks came in Ridley Scott’s historical epic Gladiator, which means he’s basically spent the entirety of the 21st century thus far burnishing his status as one of the best around. Phoenix would hate to be told that to his face, though, even if it’s true.
Joker won him a ‘Best Actor’ trophy at the Academy Awards in what was his fourth nomination overall, while he’s the recipient of one Bafta from a quartet of nods and a pair of Golden Globes from seven nominations in total.
All of that recognition only covers Gladiator, Walk the Line, The Master, Joker, Her, Inherent Vice, and Beau Is Afraid, which means his top-notch turns in C’mon C’mon, You Were Never Really Here, The Sisters Brothers, Quills, Signs, and more don’t even factor into that particular conversation.
James Gray – who directed Phoenix in The Yards, Two Lovers, We Own the Night, and The Immigrant – knows fine well what a talent his regular collaborator is. “For me, he’s up there with the best actors in movies,” he told Esquire. “He reminds me of Monty Clift, Marlon Brando, the young Al Pacino, or Robert De Niro. He has that kind of fire and intensity and that craft.”
All of them legends, each ranking among the greatest to ever grace the silver screen. When word of Gray’s celebratory praise made its way back to Phoenix, the embarrassment was palpable. “There’s no empirical evidence,” he suggested. “It’s all subjective. They don’t know what they’re talking about.”
Not to be overly pedantic about it, but there is plenty of empirical evidence to suggest Phoenix is pulled right out of acting’s top drawer. There are writers, directors, producers, and colleagues who’ll back that hypothesis, and the Oscar in his trophy cabinet offers physical proof.
Whether he wants to admit it or not, it’s true. If he gave a string of shitty performances for the next several years, then maybe that stance would soften. Then again, that’s very unlikely to happen when Phoenix takes his craft far too seriously each time out – I’m Still Here included – to let his standards drop.
