Joaquin Phoenix reportedly passed out while working on Beau Is Afraid. A surreal project written, directed, and produced by Ari Aster, Beau Is Afraid follows the journey of an anxious man sucked into a wild journey after the death of his mother. Yet, while Beau suffers through many trials and tribulations throughout the film, it was Phoenix who suffered the real-life consequences.
While Beau Is Afraid is all about disturbing plot beats, the most disturbing moment of filming came when Phoenix collapsed during filming while shooting someone else’s scene. While Aster was initially furious, he quickly realized that there was a medical emergency, and the cast and crew immediately began to support Phoenix. Check out Aster’s quote below, via IndieWire:
“Every dangerous thing Beau does, Joaquin did. The thing that’s surprising about him. I was thinking he’d be able to do everything once and then not repeat it, but he’s so technical, and part of what was amazing is the fact that he has to feel his way through everything, and everything has to feel honest. At the end of the film, it was the last week, and he was working with Patti, and there was a scene that was very intense for Patti, and it was a shot that was on Patti, not on him. All the sudden, he fell out of frame, and I was really pissed because it was a really good take. It felt confusing, so I went around the corner to the monitor, and he was collapsed. He fainted. And I knew that it was bad because he was letting people touch him. People were tending to him, and he was allowing it, and he was very confused. He fainted. He fainted in somebody else’s take. The shot was for them, not for him, he was helping them. He was in it for them, to the point where he collapsed. It’s very poetic that he collapsed on somebody else’s shot.”
Why Filming Beau Is Afraid Was So Arduous
Phoenix always goes above and beyond in his movies, but Beau Is Afraid calls for more than even he could offer. A comedy horror project with exceptionally dark themes, the film sees Beau through his entire life, as he experiences childhood, adulthood, and his elderly years. All the while, he experiences constant assaults and mind-bending twists.
Considered Aster’s most unhinged movie yet, the project forced Phoenix to attempt many bizarre stunts, as Beau’s life grows more absurd. Phoenix, who is a known method actor, was stepping into the shoes of an anxiety-prone man facing down his greatest fears. Considering that Beau faces constant attacks throughout Beau Is Afraid, it’s a recipe for disaster, given how Phoenix throws himself into his characters.
Throughout the movie, Beau is stabbed, crushed, shot, and even hit by a car. With Phoenix doing his own stunts, it isn’t exactly too surprising that Beau Is Afraid eventually took its toll and took the actor down. While Beau certainly had reason to be afraid, Phoenix’s sudden fainting spell likely put fear into the hearts of the cast and crew as well.
Source: IndieWire
