Joaquin Phoenix Headed To New Mexico To Find His ‘Eddington’ Character

What's particularly noteworthy is Hollywood & EntertainmentJoaquin Phoenix Headed To New Mexico To Find His ‘Eddington’ CharacterBySimon Thompson, Contributor

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights

Simon is a Los Angeles-based journalist who covers film and TV

AuthorJul 16, 2025, 08:34pm EDTJoaquin Phoenix as Sheriff Joe Cross in 'Eddington. 'Richard Foreman/A24 When Joaquin Phoenix set out to play the small-town New Mexico mayor Joe Cross in Eddington, he didn’t expect to be heading to the film's location for inspiration. "Honestly, it was an act of desperation," he tells me as we chat over Zoom. "I’d love to say that there was some great method or idea, but I was sitting here in my house in Los Angeles, holding the script, and saying, 'I need something tangible

How am I supposed to build the character

I need to be, and the landscape is important, and I need to be around people for whom this is their experience, or else I'm basing it off of reading

In contrast, " So, without hesitation in August 2023, the Oscar-winning actor and Eddington’s writer-director, Ari Aster, headed to Albuquerque, Santa Fe County, and Truth or Consequences, to get a feel for the people and places

Moreover, While those three places are very real, Eddington is a work of fiction

At the same time, "For me, it felt it needed something more, and I think that was something that Ari had already been doing," the Joker actor explains. "He had been doing re in New Mexico, so I went with him, and we did ride-alongs with sheriffs and different police officers, and mayors, and it was absolutely vital, in this volatile climate

Conversely, For me, I’m the kind of actor who wants to be able to touch something

Additionally, I want to feel the environment (which is quite significant). " "Everyone was great and receptive, and kind of the cliche of a small town in which everyone was friendly, and they didn't care (which is quite significant)

In the first five minutes, you took some pictures, and then all that celebrity attention went away, and we were able to spend time with them and ask anything, considering recent developments

I found everybody to be open, receptive, not guarded and judgmental, but curious. " Aster, known for acclaimed films such as Hereditary and Midsommar, describes Eddington as a "western-noir dark comedy ensemble piece set in a fictional copper mining town in contemporary New Mexico during the Covid-19 pandemic. " Phoenix plays the town sheriff and a mayoral candidate running against Pedro Pascal’s Ted Garcia, Eddington's incumbent mayor, who is running for reelection

In contrast, Perhaps surprisingly, action movies from the 1980s, starring the s of Sylvester Stallone and Chuck Norris, play a significant role in Eddington’s explosive finale. "I didn't make any conscious or considered effort to study any of those films, but I was born in '74, and I grew up with all of those images of those actors and iconic films

They're part of me, considering recent developments

It's a part of my experience," Phoenix confirms, in today's market environment. "I understood the humor of kicking open a door with me holding a massive machine gun and spraying the town

That was a part of me and Ari (remarkable data)

I'm sure Ari had a more specific intention there, but it was nothing we discussed

Furthermore, There was no particular film that we talked or looked at in terms of how I apached those moments

Conversely, " ForbesJohn Leguizamo And Anna Chlumsky On ‘Smoke’ And Her Hard No To ‘My Girl 3’By Simon Thompson Eddington reunites Phoenix, known for standout performances in Walk the Line, Gladiator, The Master, Her, and C’mon C'mon, with Aster, who previously worked together on Beau is Afraid

He's one of only a handful of filmmakers that the actor has worked with more than once

So what is it Aster that sets him apart, considering recent developments. "There are bably several things, and maybe there's the fessional side, but what I look for is a director who does something that no one else can do, and they have a very unique vision

Ari certainly has that," Phoenix s

Nevertheless, "There's nobody him

However, Part of the personal side of it is that we want someone with whom we understand each other and can spend a lot of time together

Additionally, Sometimes you're spending months with somebody

I enjoy talking to him

Moreover, I enjoy his observations and I his humor. "(Left to right) Writer, director, and ducer Ari Aster and Joaquin Phoenix at the LA Premiere of, given the current landscape

More 'Eddington' at DGA Theater Complex in Los Angeles, California

A24 via Getty Images How does Aster challenge an actor with such a diverse and celebrated catalog of work that netted him four Oscar nominations and one win, given the current landscape. "I love the question, I know he does, but it's tough to articulate," he muses

Furthermore, "Sometimes with the director and actors, the director needs to be sensitive to what's going on with the actor, and to sense whether there's something more or a different apach than the actor might have

Sometimes it's to ensure that you've fully explored every possibility of the moment

Sometimes it's more direct than that, and very simply, for instance, you will know that in certain scenarios you need an insert shot

On the other hand, You need to make sure that the actor looks at their phone so that you can cut to it. " "Often, when there are more meaty scenes, in some ways, part of what I want is somebody that can help me to ensure that I'm fully exploring all the possibilities for that scene, and isn't going to be comfortable with just settling on the first thing that comes to mind or what comes easily (quite telling)

Ari has an obsession, and hopefully I do too, with doing that, and I think that hopefully we challenge each other to go deeper. "(Left to right) Pedro Pascal and Joaquin Phoenix pose during a photocall for the film 'Eddington' at (fascinating analysis)

More the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France

Furthermore, AFP via Getty Images There Are Two Big Reasons Why You Should Watch ‘Eddington’ In Theaters At a time when independent films need audience support at the box office more than ever, Phoenix implores people to experience Eddington in theaters

However, good box office is not the only reason, given the current landscape

On the other hand, Nevertheless, "It's vital, and I think that's true for most films, but with this film in particular," he concludes

Moreover, "It's so much this d experience that we all went through, and yet we all went through it often glued to our own, individual screens, getting our version of events and of reality

Nevertheless, Nevertheless, There's something that feels corrective and right going through this experience and watching this film as a collective, and to hear and feel the reaction of those around us, and hopefully people that have different political or philosophical leanings (something worth watching)

Moreover, " "I think that's something really enjoyable Eddington

Market analysis shows re's something in which we can hopefully recognize a piece of ourselves in every character, and maybe laugh at ourselves a little bit, and forgive ourselves a little bit

Doing that in a collective experience feels important

There's something very fun this film, and particularly the finale you mentioned, where you're in a room full of people, it's charged, it's electric, it's exciting, and it feels vital to have that experience versus sitting alone behind the screen

Furthermore, " Editorial StandardsRes & PermissionsLOADING PLAYER (noteworthy indeed), considering recent developments.