So, Joaquin Phoenix, star of Walk the Line and Gladiator, announced back in October that he was done with acting and going to focus exclusively on music. The news was a bit shocking, but not absurd given the actor’s background in the field. However, absurdity introduced itself when, along with an unkempt appearance, news arrived that the album he was working on was of the rap genre.
According to Entertainment Weekly via Socialite Life, the whole thing is just another role for Phoenix, sort of a social experiment. Entertainment Weekly claims that the actor is pretending to switch from film to rap and that fellow actor and friend Casey Affleck will document the whole process. An anonymous tipster went as far to say that he heard Phoenix state, “It’s a put-on. I’m going to pretend to have a meltdown and change careers, and Casey is going to film it.”
So, assuming this new info is true, what do we make of all of this? If Phoenix is a good enough actor to pull the whole thing off, it could be an interesting study of the media and its perception of egotistical actors. However, if it were all really an act, would he let people in on it so early? Isn’t the point that it’s supposed to appear real? We’ll have to let things unfold in the next months to see how it all turns out, but right now it’s just looking like another story to be skeptical of.
Anyways, here’s a taste:
