Why Joaquin Phoenix is a genius

Before I begin, let us keep two facts in mind:

1) Joaquin Phoenix is an actor (and a method actor at that)
2) Smart people no longer engage in traditional promotion and have recently taken advantage of the viral spirit of a connected, digital world.

Joaquin Phoenix has been a respected actor for as long as I can remember. His roles in Gladiator and Walk the Line proved that he was versatile and capable of pushing himself outside of his comfort zone. He is also known to be personable and an excellent interview.

Recently, Joaquin Phoenix has begun popping up all over the news media looking like a homeless Vietnam vet--scraggly beard and hair, bizarre clothes, ridiculous purple sunglasses--and claiming that he is retiring from acting to pursue a career in Hip-Hop.

His most recent appearance on Letterman (the "debut" of his new persona) is rapidly becoming a YouTube phenomenon. At first, the public thought Phoenix was pulling a joke, but Phoenix has claimed that he isn't kidding.

Here's a pre-persona interview with Phoenix:



And here's the most recent interview:



It's all too perfect. Phoenix is dressed up as the antithesis of himself. He's no longer charismatic and charming. He's not himself. Actors don't go on shows like David Letterman's if they're a mess. They cancel. They disappear. Managers try to confine train wrecks to the private realm.

He's acting.

Phoenix has got something up his sleeve. Maybe he's working on a new film where he plays this character--a biopic on an odd white guy who loses everything and tries to start from scratch in the music industry. He's working on the kind of character that we saw in Walk the Line, a character who is touching, endearing, embarrassing, and miserable.

What better way to promote something than to pull a stunt and let the Internet go wild for it? And in this age of cynics, the only way to truly trick people into following your marketing campaign is to trick them into thinking that no actual marketing is involved.

Joaquin Phoenix is a genius. Or at least, he's involved with some people who are brilliant. Maybe it's the film's director, maybe it's Mr. Phoenix's manager. Turns out Hollywood isn't as dumb as we thought.

\m/