Joaquin Phoenix is known for taking his commitment to his roles to rather extreme levels and his appearance in Ari Aster's latest project is no exception. The Oscar-winning actor's incredible transformation was revealed in a behind-the-scenes set photo for Disappointment Blvd., proving once again that he is truly a master of disguise.
In the photo, Phoenix is pictured in a grey pajama suit with thinning gray hair, standing in what looks to be a suburban setting. At first glance, he's almost unrecognizable, especially when considering his more youthful appearance just one year prior when he accepted an Academy Award for Joker. For that role, he had dropped a staggering 52 pounds in order to achieve the slender physique of the DC villain, which he said really helped him get into the proper frame of mind to portray the troubled character. Now, based on the photo, it looks like Phoenix is taking a similar approach for his role as Beau in Disappointment Blvd.
According to Phoenix, undergoing a drastic change in weight or physical appearance in such a short amount of time really takes a toll on his mental state. While it may be an unhealthy approach, he says that the struggle he experiences during the process allows him to more effectively channel his emotions into roles like the Joker or Beau, which are more psychologically taxing to deliver on.
At the moment, not much is known about the plot for Disappointment Blvd. However, we do know that it will be an intimate, decades-spanning portrait of one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time. It's unclear whether the film will be a horror project, though Aster likes to call it a "nightmare comedy" or a "surrealist horror film" with a four-hour runtime. Should the film not have anything to do with cults and the supernatural, it would mark the first time Aster has departed from the horror genre.
Phoenix is part of a cast that includes a slew of acting heavyweights, including Nathan Lane, Patti Lupone, Amy Ryan, Michael Gandolfini, Parker Posey, Zoey Lister-Jones, Denis Menochet, Kylie Rogers, and Stephen McKinley Henderson. Meryl Streep has also reportedly joined the project, though such a claim is still unconfirmed.
So far, little details have been given on their characters, but it's likely that they will all be intricately connected to one another, whether by blood or close relationships. Given this stellar cast, as well as the mind-blowing success of Aster's last masterpieces, Hereditary and Midsommar, fans can expect another quality film from the horror mastermind.
Disappointment Blvd. is currently in production.
Source: Letterboxd | Twitter