Director James Gray has reacts to claims that Joaquin Phoenix is tough to work with.
Director James Gray Reacts To Claims That Joaquin Phoenix Is Hard To Work With-‘He’s Difficult In The Best Way’
James, for his part, is well aware of Phoenix after having worked with him on the set of the 2012 movie, ‘The Immigrant.’ During the course of that process, James recalled being blown away by the amount of dedication that Phoenix put into his role.
This work ethic was also notably seen during his critically acclaimed performance in playing the ‘Joker,’ as Phoenix had to lose around 52 pounds. With that being said, James dismissed the idea of the actor being a nuisance.
In his comments, he said: “He’s not difficult. He’s great. He’s “difficult” in the best way. You want that difficult. With Joaquin, the “difficult” label comes because he gets very open about his vulnerability and his need to feel safe in a space.”
Nevertheless, that does not mean that things are always so smooth sailing. James recalled an incident in which Phoenix did lose his cool when it came to interacting with others.
This may give him a reputation of someone that can be a loose cannon, something which Christian Bale has also faced accusations of being as shown by his tirade on set that was covered by expletives. And yet, that passion can make for great movie making when it is channeled.
James’ following comments confirmed as much: “In the middle of the take, he just screamed, “Belva! Get in here!” [Actress Dagmara Dominczyk] just walked into the middle of the take, and she actually did something great.”
The fans on social media corroborated what James had to say. A subset of people felt that Phoenix was trying to stay true to himself, which was not always going to sit well with everyone in the movie industry. One person wrote: “He is just being himself, simple as that.”
So are you a fan of the actor, or does he need to tone it down? So there you have it folks. What did you think about this? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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