Before He Played Joker, Joaquin Phoenix Played A Prank On The Entire World & We All Fell For It

Everyone is talking about Joaquin Phoenix's stellar portrayal of Joker. Comparisons are being drawn with Heath Ledger, the legendary star who has left a mark by his intense performance in the role. When the film, even before its theatrical release, won a Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival, director Todd Phillips couldn't stop raving Joaquin Phoenix in his thanking speech.

Joaquin Phoenix is definitely the talk of the town currently. But did you know before the man played the role of Joker, he played a prank on the entire world and almost everyone fell for it?

Do you remember the time when Joaquin Phoenix had fooled the audiences into believing that he was quitting acting in order to pursue rapping as a career? Several hints were dropped thereafter that made everyone fell for it.

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Hint number one was his look. Joaquin Phoenix sported a bearded look and wore sunglasses ¨C something we hadn't seen him like before. He appeared on David Letterman show with his beard.

Hint number two was when he appeared at the Miami nightclub in 2008 and started to rap before he fell off the stage. In that time, it was also rumoured that his rap album would be produced by P Diddy.

Hint number three was his representative Susan Patricola confirming the same in a statement to MTV. And then Phoenix said this -- "Are there people out there who think I'm a joke? I'm sure there will be. Are there people who think it's going to suck? Probably, but I can't worry about that."

And we all knew he had an inclination to punk music since the very beginning of his career. He would sing on the streets with his siblings because his family was poor and they all did whatever they could to earn the bread.

And it wasn't only us, P Diddy who was producing his album fell for it too. ¡°If he's not for real, he tricked me. We went into the studio, did a record, mixed a record and everything,¡± he was quoted as saying by MTV News.

At the 2009 Oscars, Ben Stiller mocked his new look too.

It was during that time, Joaquin Phoenix revealed about his alcohol addiction. People believed he was going down the hill, just like his brother River, who died of drug overdose.

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The prank was played on everyone ¨C the entire world ¨C for two long years. Finally, the truth was revealed at the Venice Film Festival, the same festival where Joker received eight-minute standing ovation recently.

There, I'm Still Here, a mockumentary was screened. And that is when everyone got to know what was going on.

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For the unversed, a mockumentary is a docucomedy which shows fictional events but is presented as a documentary. So, Joaquin Phoenix, all this while, was prepping up for the movie.

He just wanted it to be authentic. So, after two years, the joke was finally over at the David Letterman Show ¨C from where it all began.

Ten years later, Joaquin Phoenix from playing joke has become a joker in reel life. That's how you play pranks, people!