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Joaquin Phoenix:Ive got to say Im really selfish.

I dont think I think about the audience.

And I dont really know why I make the decisions that I make.

I wish I did just so I could give you a solid answer in an interview.

But its usually just a feeling.

Its kind of like falling in love, you know.

You know I attempt to come up with reasons but I dont fully understand it.

Youre either almost in every scene or in every scene of this film.

I like working all the time.

I dread having days off and the weekends are the hardest thing to get through.

I mean Paul and I would always talk that we wished that we would just keep shooting straight.

Im not able to do it.

I wish I could.

I need to be there every day and I find it really difficult to have breaks.

Did you always feel that way?

Well sometimes I didnt have a choice.

I mean there was some time before I had the opportunity to work on something every day.

And it was very difficult for me to get back into it.

Paul gave me the book first.

And so I read the book and then read the script.

I want to be confused by whats going on.

And so he would take dialogue from one character and apply it to another.

And then Paul would stir that up and really make me feel really confused about it.

Did she know about Shasta?

And he would be like I dont know man, youre just gonna have to figure it out.

Did you figure it out?

No, I still havent figured it out.

So that was deliberate on his part.

Did that extend to everybody?

I try not to, so Im not really sure how he dealt with the other actors.

I get the feeling that you and Paul got on really well.

Whats the secret sauce of the two of you working together?

I think anyone that works with Paul would get on really well with him.

And he deserves all the credit.

I just - again, its like when you fall in love with somebody, I dont know.

I just really like him.

Its hard to say why.

And Paul is really unique.

He goes, Yeah, theres that but what else is going on?

Is there something else that we havent discovered yet?

Did you do any ad libbing or did you really have to stick to the script?

I wanted to stick to the script and the book.

Pynchons words are great.

I remember trying to get this dialogue into a scene and it wasnt working.

I just couldnt do it.

Sometimes it just doesnt translate.

And that was really difficult.

I read somewhere that Pynchon sort of snuck onto the set.

I read that too.

So is that true?

I had read that too.

My publicist showed it to me.

I think Josh said that and I had no idea.

Its probably fucked up.

I never asked, like I just figured like, I never asked Paul once, is Pynchon around?

Is he curious about this?

I just figured that wasnt his process and I respected that.

I wanted to ask you about working with Reese for the first time sinceWalk the Line.

Are you more comfortable in your skin now than you were at that time?

I feel very uncomfortable right now since you asked me that question.

All right, well, Ill have to save this again.

And I was like, okay, here we go.

She made the movie last time and shes great in this.

Was it almost like no time had passed at all?

You know its funny.

I really didnt think aboutWalk the Line.

I really didnt think about that experience.

So I never really thought about it that way.

You almost did a Marvel movie.

How close did you actually come to playing Doctor Strange?

Let me put that another way.

I like all sorts of movies.

Sometimes the fit is right and thats it.

But those guys make great movies.

I likeGuardians of the Galaxy.

I really like the movies that they make.

I enjoy watching them.

I think they do them really well.

Can we talk a little bit about your look for this?

How much input do you have on your look?

Because there are times you were John Lennonish and other times I thought you were Charles Mansonish.

Were those choices by you or…

Its a process, you know.

Like, the ideas great but it just doesnt fit.

So its just really an organic process.

What do you like to do when youre not acting?

So nothing really exciting to report.

Inherent Viceis out now in limited release and will expand nationwide in early January.

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