Joaquin Phoenix doesn’t regret turning down offers to star in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The 43-year-old actor was reportedly the first choice to replace Ed Horton as The Hulk in ‘Avengers Assemble’ but pass on the opportunity, but Marvel Studios then approached him to star as the titular character in ‘Doctor Strange’ – which subsequently went to Benedict Cumberbatch.
Despite turning down the roles, Phoenix admitted he does enjoy the MCU movies "sometimes" and believes everybody was "really happy with how things turned out".
He told Little White Lies: "I think they make some great, fun movies. There’s nothing wrong… I’m not a f**king, like, cinephile.
"I’m not a snob and I’m totally fine with… I enjoy those movies sometimes, and I think they keep the f**king industry going in some ways, so I don’t have a problem with it at all.
"I think that everybody was, is… I’m trying to figure out how to say this most diplomatically, okay… I think everybody was really happy with how things turned out. All parties were satisfied."
The actor is currently being praised for his role as the damaged ex-soldier Joe in ‘If You Were Never Really Here’ and for the part, Phoenix got himself a personal trainer to pump him up but admitted the physical effects started to change him.
He said: "It’s fun at first and then it’s weird. It starts to change you… the physical effects the emotional or the mental.
"You feel differently about yourself. It’s interesting to feel your body in that way.
"I think that was the biggest I’d been for a while. At first it’s great and then it’s like, ‘f**k!’ You have to go in on weekends to try and maintain it."
The film follows Joe who is hired to rescue a sex-trafficked daughter of a senator but the mission goes seriously wrong.
Joaquin Phoenix doesn’t regret turning down MCU roles
