First, there is that Rasputin look-alike that Joaquin just will not do anything about. Come on, what’s with the sporting sunglasses and the now-infamous bushy beard?

 

Then there is his weird announcement he made last fall that he was leaving his day job to pursue a music career. That was perhaps not the smartest idea Joaquin had since his debut concert turned into a fiasco. Phoenix made his first public foray into the music world saying that he was ready to put his real self out there and not hide behind movie characters anymore. The 34-year-old star’s relationship to music wants to be a hip-hop based one therefore he performed as a rapper awkwardly pacing onstage at Las Vegas club Lavo in front of a cheering crowd.

 

His first album is reportedly being produced by Sean "Diddy" Combs and it has not been entitled yet. The date when this debut album will be released has not been revealed.

 

But it looks like misfortune already came upon the aspiring rapper’s performance. After assuring the public that they have a very special place in his heart and that music is his real love, the “Gladiator” and “Signs” star walked right off the stage, falling flat on his rear following his unusual three song set. Now what are we supposed to believe after that, since Phoenix himself told People magazine: “This is me saying who I am!?”

 

Could anything actually go worse than that? Hell yeah! How about brother-in-law Casey Affleck being there to capture it all on camera? ...which leads us to the third weird idea that went through Joaquin’s mind. He thought his transition from movies to music should be a memorable one (which it really was) therefore he had Affleck and a crew tagging along with Phoenix and taping his every move. The most interesting part is that they don’t call what they're doing a documentary.

 

The question is inevitable, especially since the actor does not want to talk: what is going on with Joaquin Phoenix? Apparently nobody found a reasonable answer for his odd public behavior yet, but James Gray, his director in many movies, thought to give it a shot. The man excludes drugs from his theory, saying that at the premiere of “Two Lovers,” his latest movie, the actor was lucid and cleared-eyed.

 

Gray mentioned the fact that Joaquin’s fatigue in acting was obvious while filming “Two Lovers.” Furthermore, the director remembers the actor often complained he was very tired, but ignored his wining.

 

Gray also remembers that Joaquin pretty much imitated everything he did or said. The director admits having had a rapping obsession as a teenager, but he never thought this would influence the actor so much. He sincerely stated that he feels like he had ruined Joaquin Phoenix for the world.

 

Perhaps it’s a little too much to say that Phoenix’s career is destroyed, but his way of proving everybody is wrong sais quite the opposite. He had a hostile appearance on Wednesday night on “The Late Show With David Letterman” and he seemed completely absent, staring off into space and answering questions monosyllabically. By the end of the interview after a long pause from his guest, Letterman started to make a fool of Phoenix.