Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

Play It Again: Joaquin Phoenix

Mittwoch, 23. Juli 2025 · 1 h 04

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“I wanted to be good, but I completely burned up the morning,” said Joaquin Phoenix on day 1 of Eddington (fandango.com/eddington-2025-240285/movie-overv…). “Ari and I stayed on set when everyone left for lunch—and, slowly, something emerged. I don’t know if it’s any good, but it didn’t make me want to end everything.”
With the film’s arrival in theaters, we return to our candid, long-form talk with Phoenix. At the top, we unpack his transformation in Joker: Folie à Deux (joker.movie) (), his free-wheeling collaborations with director Todd Phillips (), and the nomadic upbringing that marked his early years (). Then, he reflects on his childhood television debut in Hill Street Blues (), the brilliance of Robert De Niro (), and his formative performances in To Die For and Parenthood ().
On the back-half, we discuss how the polarizing mockumentary, I’m Still Here (), inspired his singular collaborations with directors Spike Jonze, Paul Thomas Anderson, James Gray, and Lynne Ramsay (). We also talk about the evolution of his acting process (), the impassioned Oscars speech he delivered accepting Best Actor for Joker (), and whether he’ll ever turn in what he believes is a ‘great’ performance ().
Hear our episode with Ari Aster (talkeasypod.com/ari-aster) and watch on YouTube (youtube.com/watch?v=Xc9VjN4SqpA&t=1739s).
Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at mail@talkeasypod.com.
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