Joaquin: Crazy Like a Fox

Joaquin Phoenix’ recent antics—wild, matted hair and beard; shambolic partying; proclaimed intentions to give up acting for rapping—have had some fans fearing he might be going crazy. His shambling three-song rap debut, at a Las Vegas nightclub on Jan. 16, only solidified the feeling. But they needn’t have worried: Entertainment Weekly’s Hollywood Insider blog reports the two-time Oscar nominee may be “perpetrating an elaborate Andy Kaufman-style hoax,” all filmed by his friend and brother-in-law Casey Affleck for a faux documentary to “lampoon pompous actors and punk the media.” Phoenix told a source, “It’s a put-on. I’m going to pretend to have a meltdown and change careers, and Casey is going to film it.”