While he is expected to appear in the cinema next to Lady Gaga in Joker: Folie à deux, the public was able to see Joaquin Phoenix in Napoleon by Ridley Scott last November. A few months after the film's release, we learned that the actor who plays the famous historical figure almost jeopardized the production. And apparently, it wasn't the only time. Recently, he abandoned a project five days before filming began. A choice that could well cost the American star dearly.
Joaquin Phoenix incredible but unstable actor?
Indeed, one could wonder if Joaquin Phoenix is not playing the Hollywood diva. And for good reason: we learned that The actor who plays Arthur Fleck in Joker had been unmanageable on the set of the film directed by Todd Philips, but not only on this production. Phoenix would also have jeopardized Ridley Scott's blockbuster, Napoleon, by demanding that the script be rewritten by a specific person. According to information from The Hollywood Reporter, the star reportedly threatened to leave the set of Ridley Scott's film starring the emperor if the rewrites were not carried out by Paul Thomas Anderson, a screenwriter who also reportedly rewrote Killers of the Flower Moon.
Still, Joaquin Phoenix seems to be making a habit of endangering the productions he gets involved in. Indeed, recently, he simply made the decision to leave the set of a film just a few days before the start of filming. A decision that could cost him dearly.
Legal repercussions for Joaquin Phoenix
The actor had accepted to star in Todd Haynes's next filmwhose title had not been revealed. However, we do know that the plot was a gay detective romance set in the 1930s and featuring Joaquin Phoenix and Danny Ramirez seen in Top Gun: Maverick. Just five days before filming was to begin, the actor decided to abandon the project, leaving the director and the entire technical team stranded. For the moment no information has been given to explain this sudden departure.
Some believe that the actor was reportedly afraid of the explicit gay sex scenes planned in the script. A reason that doesn't hold water because it was Phoenix himself who wrote the script and would have insisted that the film go to the maximum of eroticism and the homosexual love story as the filmmaker had indicated at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023.
Phoenix's departure would represent a financial loss that would amount to several million dollars. The production company does not want to replace the actor and is trying by all means to find a solution to pay the team. For his part, the star could have to face justice after not respecting his commitment on this project.
The public will be able to find Joaquin Phoenix in Joker: Folie à Deux on October 2 in theaters.