Reviews > Movie News > Clean Shaven Joaquin…

The world thought he’d gone mad, but Joaquin Phoenix has laid his hoax to rest with a follow-up appearance on the David Letterman show.

Phoenix – who announced his retirement from acting in 2009 to pursue a rap career - gave a mumbling monosyllabic interview with David Latterman in February of last year, causing uproar amongst his biggest fans.

But after his pal, and director behind the spoof mockumentary I’m Still Here, Casey Affleck openly credited Phoenix for the performance of a lifetime, the Gladiator star was forced to fess up.

Phoenix laughed with Letterman live on television saying, “I think that you've interviewed many, many people and I assumed that you would know the difference between a character and a real person, so... but I apologise... I hope I didn't offend you in any way.

“We'd hoped to come on a talk show”, Phoenix continued. “I was looking for a beat down, and I got one. I want to thank you for that.”

Phoenix ditched his sanity for a beard, a gut and some poorly executed rapping in an attempt to lead everyone to believe he had gone mad.

Fans can now breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy his and Affleck’s experiment in the tell-all mockumentary I’m Still Here - in cinemas now.