Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Joaquin Phoenix on Jay Leno
hey y'all~
here is the "script"... it's not really a script, it's just the interview when Joaquin Phoenix was on the late night talk show Jay Leno. Here you go. He was HILARIOUS on it, just so's you know's.
Date: January 10th 2006
Jay: (Introducing him...talking about his WTL performance) He does a wonderful
job...and you know something...this guy is a trooper. He was sick as a dog and we
called and said we need you (makes noises of how Joaquin could barely talk)...so he
gets up out of his sick bed and he's here and I couldn't be more grateful to him...here
he is! (Loud cheering from audience)
JP comes out (black pants, black jacket, blue button-down shirt, hair falling across
forehead...and barely hugs Jay because he's sick...smiles)
Jay: So how you feeling, any better?
JP: A little better, you guys gave me some stuff back there so I've been swallowing
that...so how do we start? Usually you go 'how are you', I say 'everything's great' and
we do the thing...but now I'm feeling very down and I'm contagious so don't hug me or
anything (looking around at audience, smiling)
Jay: When did you first realize you were sick?
JP: It was Saturday I started feeling off and then Sunday too...it was this
cinematographer Sean who gave it to me. Then Monday I woke up and I couldn't
breathe, head aching, the whole thing and I didn't think I'd make it here.
Jay: Do you want a cough drop?
JP: Oh that's adorable! Thank you very much...(picks up cough drop out of little bowl
and very sweetly sticks it inside his jacket pocket) "I’ll take it to go"
Jay: I find it very interesting you know who gave it to you because I'm like that...I'll be
shaking hands and I'll see this guy and I'll think to myself "oh no he's sick" and then I'll
get it.
JP: Cause you come out and do the whole thing (gestures a hand shake)
Jay: I get every disease there is. Do you ever have it happen to you like this happened
to me the other day...I got up and thought 'I feel great', I took a shower...my wife was
still asleep...I hadn't spoken yet and said 'honey I'm going to work' (makes croaking
noises)
JP: Yeah...the trick sickness...it fakes you out sometimes...you get up and you think
you're ok. This happened to me today...I took a nap and I thought I was ok...you
know you do like one eye first to see if it's cool, then two eyes-pretty good-you're like
'wait a minute, I think I got this baby' (stands up...jerks leg out)...it just hits you...my
leg seized up! I'm trying to get dressed to come here, I'm putting on the wrong
jacket...(points down at his combat boots)...look at these! I don't even know what
these are! It was a total catastrophe.
Jay: (laughing hysterically) ...Well when I went to see you in the dressing room, you
were lying back with one eye open to see who it was.
JP: It's Dracul...you do the Dracul (tilts head back...crosses arms over his
chest)...cause you don't want to move at all...everything hurts so you try and you just
stay still...it'll go away (eyes closed).
Jay: Do you have any remedies? Any special tricks?
JP: No, I just take whatever's available...but there's all that weird stuff...elderberry
root...weird roots, it's like a witches brew!
Jay: Well, it's funny how you know you won't go to a doctor, a trained professional,
but your idiot friend down the street says 'take this' and they'll boil something and
you'll drink that!
JP: But you get so desperate you know what I mean? You're just laying there and
you're like 'fine...anything..here...I’ll take it'!
Jay: So you just got a new house right?
JP: Yeah, well I got it awhile ago but I haven't done the full move-in. I haven't
unpacked anything so it looks like I just moved in but I've had it for like 8 months.
(audience laughs)...How do you do that? How do you do the REAL move in??? You
have to go shopping and buy the things?? (makes face)
Jay: I don't like to shop.
JP: I can't stand it.
Jay: Now you mean shopping for like drapes? or furniture?
JP: Well, like a chest of drawers...I mean to me it's like you get the thing and you put
the stuff in it but other people are like 'no that's oak and you wanna get pine and the
right edge and the varnish' (in funny voice)...but I just put the thing in it and it's done!
So now I just have boxes with shirts stacked in them...it's great!
Jay: So you got pictures hanging?
JP: I just put em' on the floor! (big smile)...I think it's easier to see that
way!
Jay: (laughing)
JP: (looking up like he's looking at a wall) ...you could hurt your neck that way, it's a
perfect level (gestures to floor)...I have a very bad neck since I was young.
Jay: So you're not handy at all? Not a hammer swinging guy?
JP: NO...Not at ALL. (reaches for cup on table)
Jay: Do you want some good tea cause that's got ice in it?
JP: (freezes...stares down at cup) See that's the thing! I don't know! If you say don't do
it I'm not gonna do it! (laughing...smiling)
Jay: Well, try it and see.
JP: It's really, really good...it is. But I don't know what happens later! Like right now
it's good...but who knows?!
Jay: (laughing) we'll go to commercial and come back in just a minute...
Jay: Welcome back everybody! We've just gone through medical trials with Joaquin
Phoenix, who has had the ice drink and now is trying the good tea. What do you think?
JP: (looks around...deep in thought)...You're right, it's the warm one...yeah...does
everybody know that? Am I the last one to find out?
Jay: Well it was just theory but now you have proven it!
JP: (laughs)...the warm one...yeah...thank you!
Jay: Well, congratulations on the Golden Globe nomination!
JP: Thank you very much (audience cheers loudly)
Jay: Remarkable performance. And you got to meet Johnny cash? How cool was that?
JP: It was amazing...it was actually before I knew about the film. I didn't even know
they were MAKING a film about him. I was invited through a mutual friend, James
Gray to have dinner with him and it was certainly intimidating. I get to meet Johnny
Cash! But John and June were such amazing, warm, unpretentious kind of people.
Immediately you feel like part of their family and strangely enough June said that to
me...(in higher voice) 'You'll have to come down here to Hendersonville and visit with
us' and I thought well that's odd, why would I do that and she said 'Well you're family
now' (swats hand like she's hit him on the shoulder). And that's the kind of people they
were. It was an amazing experience...and John quoted some lines of dialogue from a
movie I did called Gladiator...it's so odd but here is this amazing artist that's quoted all
the time. Like everybody I know has quoted 'I shot a man in Reno just to watch him
die' ...You know what I mean? And he was quoting dialogue that I had said...It was
surreal.
Jay: Well, that's pretty cool! And I know he died in 2003, did he know you were going
to play him?
JP: Yeah he did.
Jay: You never played guitar or sang before this?
JP: No. It was something I felt like I had to do, and you know...John was a great
performer but technically he wasn't the best guitar player.
JP: (after saying John wasn't technically the best guitar player)...Essentially it was very
simple...I basically play just three chords, but he had a very unique way of playing. It
was something...you know...just the way he held the guitar. It was so distinct. And so
that's what I did at first was just learn to hold it. I just walked around with this guitar
for three months before I ever really learned how to play. But it was a great
experience...that's what's great about being an actor. You get to try all these things that
you'd never get to do you know...cause I tried once when I was young to play guitar
and I was terrible at it, it hurt my hands, I gave it up...I did like two lessons and I gave
it up. And so when I bought the guitar this time, I was like 'is this gonna happen again,
I don't know if I'm gonna be able to do it'. I have kind of a bad track record with
this...don't know if I can stick with it. (smiling) So I just forced myself to play it each day.
Jay: The thing I thought was really cool was that you got the walk down. Cause in the
70's and 80's I'd worked with him a couple of times and when he came in the
room...'Hello everybody, I'm Johnny Cash' (in deep voice)...when he would do
that...whew! You'd just get chills. And did you practice the whole walk?
JP: Yeah, (laughing)...yeah it's ridiculous...like if you could see an actor at home
rehearsing alone...like I’m just walking around my house trying to do this walk. But
when I watch these tapes on him, like he walked with his toes pointed out. And he
never seemed to bend his knees. And I think it was probably because he was so
tall...just a big guy you know...and he just had this stride. And so I would just walk
around my house just doing circles, just doing laps around my house with the guitar
on. If anybody ever looked in the window (smiling)...they must have thought 'what the
hell is that guy doing'?
Jay: And you know what looked different? You didn't look like you. And I
realized...what did you do to your hair? Something was changed.
JP: Well, my hair is a catastrophe on the best of days....but when I started prepping it
you know...I started kind of trying to do a pompadour. And I was looking at my
hairline and I was looking at pictures of him...and something was off and I couldn't
figure it out, then I realized I have a bit of a widow's peak...like this line that comes
down (slight cheer from the audience)...what's that? is that a good thing? (laughs)...I
don't know...apparently someone likes that ...and so I shaved it off. And it was
amazing cause the moment I did that, I was like 'yes that's it'! But you know, when it
was growing back, it was ridiculous (laughing), I had an inch here...it was kinda spiked
and strange.
Jay: I mean, when you're so into this character, and you're not on stage, would you be
Johnny Cash at home? Did you just try to stay in character...sort of 24 hours a day
during the filming?
JP: Those lines get blurred...I mean you know...it's such a strange process. Even when
you're acting, you're not trying to be anything you know what I mean? That's kind of
the first mistake. You don't go home...you don't try to do it. Your life kind of alters
dramatically...I mean first just going on location...going to Memphis for three
months...and you know all I did was play John's songs. And you know, you kind of get
rid of your clothes...you don't talk to your friends, you don't do those things that you
kind of normally do that help define you. So I think, inevitably your character starts
changing.
Jay: Well, let's show people a clip. This is a scene where you're trying to get Reese, as
June Carter, on stage to sing with you.
JP: I don't know what scene this is...I’m sorry. I always mess this up! (smiles)
Jay: No, you're doing great! You should be sick all the time! You're a great guest.
Let's take a look...here's a scene from 'Walk the Line'....Good Job! Joaquin...fabulous!
Thank you so much. I can't thank you enough...good luck at the Golden Globes and
the Oscars. Get back to bed.
JP: (waves and smiles to everyone...loud cheering)
Now... i'm not THAT obsessed with Joaquin that I would write down EVERYTHING that he says. I got it from this one website and I just gotta say.... the girl who did this.... you need to get a life. Get a hobby. bye
(got pics of Joaq on Jay)
4:28 PM
I will never be with you.