{"id":14255,"date":"2025-07-16T17:19:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T17:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/14255\/"},"modified":"2025-07-16T17:19:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T17:19:08","slug":"joaquin-phoenix-apologizes-for-2009-david-letterman-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/14255\/","title":{"rendered":"Joaquin Phoenix apologizes for 2009 David Letterman interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joaquin Phoenix deeply regrets his infamous David Letterman interview.<\/p>\n

The \u201cJoker\u201d actor, 50, appeared on <\/a>\u201cThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert\u201d Tuesday and looked back on the infamous exchange he had with Letterman, 78, in the same NYC studio over 15 years ago.<\/p>\n

At the time, Phoenix was promoting his 2010 mockumentary \u201cI\u2019m Still Here,\u201d which followed him retiring from acting and becoming a hip hop artist. When he went on Letterman\u2019s show<\/a>, Phoenix transformed into his spoof character and acted bizarrely.<\/p>\n

Joaquin Phoenix on \u201cThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert.\u201d Late Show with Stephen Colbert\/Youtube<\/p>\n

Joaquin Phoenix and David Letterman in 2009. Letterman\/Youtube<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen 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,\u201d Phoenix recalled to Colbert, 61. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo I called them back and I said, \u2018Listen, this is what I\u2019m doing. I\u2019m coming out here and I\u2019m doing this whole thing. And I just want Dave to like, lacerate me. I just want it to be really dangerous,\u2019\u201d the actor stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo that was the kind of intention,\u201d Phoenix added. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Oscar winner went on to call the interview \u201chorrible\u201d and \u201cuncomfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI regret it, I\u2019ll never do it again,\u201d he shared. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if he\u2019s watching,\u201d Colbert joked to Phoenix about Letterman, as Phoenix offered a direct apology to the former \u201cLate Show\u201d host.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe might be and I just need to say, I\u2019m sorry,\u201d\u00a0Phoenix said.<\/p>\n

Joaquin Phoenix on David Letterman\u2019s show in 2009. Letterman\/Youtube<\/p>\n

Colbert told Phoenix he watched the 2009 interview live and called it \u201cgreat TV.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phoenix, joking about his return to the Ed Sullivan Theater, said to Colbert: \u201cI imagine they did a major exorcism after I left.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joaquin Phoenix\u2019s mockumentary \u201cI\u2019m Still Here.\u201d Magnolia Pictures<\/p>\n

The talk show host then pointed out that Phoenix \u201cgot what you wanted\u201d from his infamous sit-down with Letterman.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was strange because in some ways, it was a success,\u201d the \u201cWalk the Line\u201d star said, \u201cand it was also just one of the worst nights of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joaquin Phoenix at the \u201cEddington\u201d photocall at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. DGP\/imageSPACE \/ MEGA<\/p>\n

Phoenix previously apologized to Letterman when he returned<\/a> to \u201cThe Late Show\u201d in 2010.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope I didn\u2019t offend you in any way,\u201d Phoenix said. \u201cYou\u2019ve interviewed many, many people and I assumed that you would know the difference between a character and a real person, but I apologize.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Letterman wasn\u2019t insulted, saying to Phoenix, \u201cI\u2019m telling you, it was so fun.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joaquin Phoenix deeply regrets his infamous David Letterman interview. The \u201cJoker\u201d actor, 50, appeared on \u201cThe Late Show…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14256,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[13724,88,13725,13726,13727,13728,10674,92],"class_list":{"0":"post-14255","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-david-letterman","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-joaquin-phoenix","11":"tag-late-night","12":"tag-late-show-with-david-letterman","13":"tag-late-show-with-stephen-colbert","14":"tag-stephen-colbert","15":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}