Quote of the Day (Letterman, to Joaquin Phoenix)

“Joaquin, I’m sorry you couldn’t be here tonight.”—Late Show host David Letterman, closing out his interview with bizarre guest Joaquin Phoenix, on February 11, 2009

However long the rest of his run as talkshow host might be, Letterman’s interview with Phoenix will likely be among the short list of highlights at the end of his career, along with the appearances by Farrah Fawcett, Madonna, Cher, and Drew Barrymore.

One quote doesn’t begin to convey the truly unique nature of this event—from the almost gushing introduction, through Letterman’s first barb about his guest’s beard (“I make you feel weird about it? I can’t be the first one to make you feel weird about it”), mumbles from Phoenix that Marlon Brando could never dream of, Letterman’s readily visible tongue-in-cheek movements, and the host’s final dispatch of his unbelievably weird guest.

Anyone who has seen Phoenix’s brilliant performances in Gladiator and Walk the Line will, like Letterman, hope this talented actor isn’t giving up film for good. Anyone who has seen this performances—and this disastrous 10-minute appearance on the talkshow circuit—will hope that he huddles with a career crisis-management consultant—and, perhaps, begin sessions with a psychiatrist, if he hasn’t already.