Joaquin Phoenix passed out on the set of his new movie Beau Is Afraid while doing an ‘intense’ scene with Patti LuPone
Joaquin Phoenix passed out while filming the upcoming film Beau Is Afraid, according to the film’s director, Ari Aster.
Speaking at a question-and-answer panel held at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in New York on Saturday, the 36-year-old filmmaker, who is working with Phoenix for the first time, described the incident on set.
The Walk The Line actor, 48, was off camera when he fell to the ground while co-star Patti LuPone, 73, was filming a scene, according to Deadline.
“There was a scene that was very intense for Patti and it was a shot that was on Patti, she wasn’t on him, and all of a sudden she went out of frame,” Aster explained.
He added: “It’s very poetic that he collapsed in someone else’s shot.”
Health scare: Joaquin Phoenix has passed out while filming the upcoming film Beau Is Afraid, its director Ari Aster said Saturday at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in New York during a question-and-answer session; seen in February 2021
Costar: Aster explained that Phoenix wasn’t even the subject of the scene, as the camera was on his co-star Patti LuPone; photographed last june
“The point is that he passed out on someone else’s take, he wasn’t on camera and he was helping them, he was there for them to the point where he collapsed,” Ari said.
“I was really mad because it was a really good take. I got confused so I turned the corner and he just slumped over,” she continued.
The filmmaker continued: “I knew it was bad because he was letting people touch him and people were serving him and he was allowing it.”
During the panel, Ari also said about Joaquin that “everything has to feel honest” with him.
Beau Is Afraid is about ‘a paranoid man [who] embarks on an epic odyssey to get home to her mother,’ Deadline informed.
In addition to Phoenix and LuPone, the film also features a cast that includes Nathan Lane, Amy Ryan, Kylie Rogers, Denise Ménochet, Parker Posey, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Richard Kind, Hayley Squires, and Michael Gandolfini.
The project is scheduled to hit theaters on April 21.
Meanwhile, Phoenix has been spotted in New York City filming scenes for Joker: Folie à Deux.
The Her star was seen walking with director Todd Phillips before hopping into a squad car amid a busy and chaotic scene last week.
In the crowd, there were characters in the background seen holding ‘FREE JOKER’ signs.
The set resembled the one Lady Gaga was seen the day before in a Harley Quinn-inspired look.
In the sequel, Phoenix will reprise his Oscar-winning role as the infamous Batman villain, while 36-year-old singer-songwriter Gaga will join him in the role of a henchwoman and love interest: his Harley Quinn.
Rising star: Aster is the director of the acclaimed horror films Hereditary and Midsommar, though his new film Beau Is Afraid is reportedly a dark comedy; photographed in 2018
Role: Beau Is Afraid is about ‘a paranoid man [who] embarks on an epic odyssey to get home to her mother’
Coming soon: Beau Is Afraid will be released in theaters on April 14
Much of the plot is still currently unknown, but the title refers to an illusion or mental illness shared by two people.
The first Joker movie, released in 2019, received rave reviews and grossed over $1 billion worldwide.
Production began on the highly anticipated musical sequel in December 2022.
Joker: Folie à Deux will be released theatrically by Warner Bros. on October 9, 2024.