Joaquin Phoenix was warned by producers that his latest movie would be "a real bummer".
The 43-year-old actor stars as cartoonist John Callahan, who became a quadriplegic following an accident at the age of 21, in ‘Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot’, and Joaquin has admitted that Gus Van Sant had to convince producers that the movie was worth pursuing.
He said: "I remember we had a meeting early on with some producers and they were saying, ‘This just seems like it will be a real bummer, this movie’. And Gus goes, ‘Oh no, we were going to do it with Robin, it wasn’t going to be a bummer at all!’ And they said ‘Yeah, but that was Robin Williams, not Joaquin’. And I was there! In the room!"
The movie is actually based on the memoir of the same name by the cartoonist.
And while some aspects of the film are quite dark, Joaquin also noted that it ultimately, it left him "with this feeling of joy".
The Hollywood actor – who appears in the film alongside Jonah Hill and Rooney Mara – told the Age newspaper in Australia: "A lot of the book is very difficult, particularly the parts just after the accident.
"But more than anything, you’re left with this feeling of joy. And I think that we had that on set.
"I am almost always early to set anyway, but I was always really excited to see what I would discover that day. You know, it’s funny, but this may be the most joyful time I have ever had making a movie."
Joaquin Phoenix says producers warned new movie ‘would be a real bummer’
