Joaquin Phoenix vomited backstage before TV interview due to 'crippling anxiety'

Crippling anxiety pushed Joaquin Phoenix to be physically sick as he waited backstage before a TV appearance.

The Oscar-winning actor revealed to British GQ magazine that he has to take special measures to cope with his stress when working.

Phoenix said he "still gets crippling anxiety for weeks before shooting starts" and "feels physically sick" when he begins working on new projects.

"For the first three weeks of shooting, I sweat so much that they have to put pads in my armpits," he admitted.

Vouching for the star, film director James Gray concurred by telling the publication: "He is incredibly shy – something most people think is an act or something."

Gray, who worked with Phoenix on several projects including We Own the Night and The Immigrant, went on to recall once waiting backstage with Phoenix before a television interview and he got so nervous he vomited. The filmmaker didn't reveal what show the star was due to appear on.

Phoenix, 45, suggested his nerves come about because "everything they teach you as a kid (about acting) is completely f**king wrong".

"They teach you to remember your lines. Wrong! They teach you to follow your light. Wrong! They teach you to hit your mark. Wrong, wrong, wrong!" he said. "Those are the things that you shouldn’t do."

Despite his nerves, Phoenix was one of the most celebrated actors during the 2020 awards season, winning the Best Actor Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance as Arthur Fleck in Joker.