James Gray had revealed that he thinks Joaquin Phoenix is making a fool of himself since the actor quit movies in favour of a rap career.
The director has worked with Phoenix on a trio of movies; The Yards, We Own The Night and, more recently, Two Lovers.
In an interview with The Times the director said: "Towards the end of the movie he kept saying: 'I'm tired, I'm tired, I don't want to act anymore. I've been doing this for 30 years and I can't take it!'
"And I thought, at the time, he was just tired. But I must say, I've seen him in his house, and he has his own recording studio that he built right there. So if this is a hoax, then it's the most elaborate thing that I have ever seen."
"It's like, Letterman was trying to get the movie out there, but the only thing that's out there now is a crazy person with a beard making a fool of himself!
"If it is shown to be a hoax, then that's great, because Joaquin will come back to acting. And he is something special. But if it isn't, you know, I think he needs, well, help."
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