Joaquin Phoenix showed up for his last ever press junket for the film Two Lovers, filmed by his friend Casey Affleck, for a documentary chronicling his burgeoning hip hop career. Many have been speculating that this is just an act, but if it is, Phoenix is committed to staying in character.

"Part of me understands that people are going to say that and I realize that part of it might seem ridiculous to people but I can't concern myself with that," he said. "I'm not going to be worried about what people think that my life is and I've never conducted myself that way. What people think has never affected my decisions, anything that I've done, no matter what film that I've done, whatever it is. I'm not going to let that start now."




Falling off a stage doesn't help establish his credibility, but Phoenix had an explanation for that. "I wasn't f*cked up and fell down. I jumped down, I literally jumped back up and said I'm fine, but I honestly was so nervous that it's all kind of a blur. I don't feel like I really was aware of what was happening until it was like halfway through the second song."

Phoenix knows he has an uphill battle to establish credibility on music. Hollywood gave him more credit for playing a singer in Walk the Line.

"I did like a lot of freestyling around the city. I've gone to little small places and there's literally people heckling you and saying Johnny Cash and saying this stuff. So it was really difficult."

Don't get the wrong idea though. Phoenix isn't pouting about getting respect. He's got a sense of humor about his "craft" too. "Ultimately the record is not going to be a rap record. I mean, it's hip hop. There's rap in it but there's singing. I sound like such a f*cking d*ck but what you want to do is make f*ckin' The Wall and sh*t. So I want it to be great and big."


Interview by Fred Topel

Starpulse contributing writer

(Starpulse in Hollywood): Every week, Hollywood's biggest stars are meeting in the hot spots of Beverly Hills, and Starpulse is there.