The standard celebrity profile can often err on the side of being too safe and formulaic in order to avoid awkwardness and maintain the air of mystery for the interviewed star. However, sometimes the right combination of journalist and interviewee comes along and chucks the whole business out the window in the best way possible. Interview Magazine found that magic formula by having Will Ferrell interview Joaquin Phoenix ahead of, well, a couple of movies. Phoenix seems a little unclear on which film he’s actually promoting, but Ferrell manages to channel his inner Between Two Ferns genius and get some great stuff from Phoenix. Sure, it’s still more than a little awkward and mysterious, but in the best possible way.
The two actors cover a wide range of topics, including Valentine’s Day (Phoenix doesn’t know much about the holiday) and horseback riding (Phoenix is not a fan), but one of the best bits is their riffing on the difference between reading a script and actually having to do what it says.
FERRELL: You mentioned you read the script, and that it didn’t really dawn on you that you’d be riding horses. I remember that happened to me with Old School [2003], with a scene where my character streaks naked down the road, and I was like, “Oh, that’s a funny joke.” And then it came to the night that I had to shoot it. [both laugh] On a city street, in front of a lot of crew, and extras, and people in the street. And I was like, “Oh, yeah, I gotta do this now.” Those things can sneak up on you.
PHOENIX: The strange thing is that often I will fixate on things that, by the time I actually start shooting, seem really inconsequential, but for some reason, I think, “This is the scene that I’m worried about, this is what’s going to require the most work or struggle.” And then I completely miss the things that really end up being the most demanding. There’s almost always that moment the night before a scene when you go, “Wait a second, what? What are we shooting? I didn’t even remember this being in the script! This is something I’m actually doing?”
FERRELL: And you’re jumping out of a plane.
PHOENIX: [laughs] Yeah, exactly.
Ferrell also felt hilariously bold enough to ask a question that few journalists would actually ask.
FERRELL: In your personal life, are you sometimes a little bitch?
PHOENIX: Be more specific.
The entire interview is transcendently strange and worth reading, so be sure to take the time to enjoy this organized chaos. However, when Ferrell invites Phoenix to his house for the next Super Bowl, Phoenix reacts in a way that at first seems rude but is honestly a pretty good motto.
PHOENIX: I’m trying to do this thing where I’m being honest with people—I don’t want to come. But I’d love to come over to check out your bananas sometime.
FERRELL: Wait, say that again? You’re doing this thing where when you really don’t want to go somewhere, you just say, “I’m not going to go”?
PHOENIX: I’m tired of making excuses.
FERRELL: It’s okay as an adult to say, “No, I’m not going. I just don’t want to go.”
PHOENIX: Yeah, I mean, it is okay, but, just that, I have to, yeah, I can’t do it. [Ferrell laughs] It’s very nice of you to offer, but I won’t be doing that.
May we all work “I won’t be doing that” into our own social lives more often.
(Via Interview Mag)
