More weirdness by actors on Letterman
I have enormous respect for actors. The competition is even more insane than the writing side of the business, the rejection more direct, and frankly I’ve never been able to do what they do, so I’ve always been a bit mystified by how actors and their brain chemistry.
Well, my mystification just rose a couple of notches with the bizarre ‘performance’ by Joaquin Phoenix on “The David Letterman Show” last night. Or at least I presume it was a performance — as does the director of Phoenix’s latest movie. The video is not available on YouTube, so I can only provide a link, but for those of you who enjoy cringeworthy moments, this one definitely is both “cringe” and “worthy.”
Of course, Letterman has had some ‘special’ moments with actors before. There is this surreal 1987 encounter with Crispin Glover who nearly karate kicks Dave in the dome:
Then there’s the 1994 appearance of Madonna (okay, so she’s mostly a singer, but she does have over 10 acting credits including Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Dick Tracy (1990), and Evita (1996) where Madonna drops the F-bomb 13 times in 20 minutes:
And who can forget Drew Barrymore and her special ‘birthday gift’ for Dave in this 1995 visit to the show:
All things being equal, I suspect Dave prefers actors who pull a “Barrymore,” not a “Glover.”
Any other actors acting out on Letterman that I’ve forgot?
UPDATE: In comments, Jeff mentioned Oliver Reed on Letterman. It is truly weird. And here it is.