Actor James McAvoy claimed that he was called in at the last minute to replace Joaquin Phoenix in the psychological thriller "Split" after the "Joker" star dropped out just before filming began.
McAvoy's allegations came amid controversy over Phoenix's abrupt departure from Todd Haynes' upcoming untitled gay romance film. Phoenix exited the production five days before shooting began, with sources telling Variety he got "cold feet."
During an appearance on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast, McAvoy said this was not the first time Phoenix dropped out of a project at the last minute.
"I'm confident enough to think I'll do it better. I'm joking!" he said of replacing the Oscar-winning actor in "Split," according to the Independent.
"He's an amazing actor," McAvoy said of Phoenix. "I think he'd give a very different performance to the one I did, but I think he'd give an incredible performance."
Commenting on being cast days before filming commenced, McAvoy added: "Sometimes coming in last minute is the best way."
"I think he ditched it two weeks before they started shooting," he said. "It was really last minute. I had a couple of weeks [to prepare]. Two weeks. The script was well put together so a lot of it was clear what I wanted to do straight away."
Phoenix was pressed by the media this month to explain his departure from Haynes' film, but he declined to comment, saying it wasn't helpful to share just his side of the story.
"I think if I do [speak about the reasoning], I'd just be sharing my opinion from my perspective, and the other creatives aren't here to say their piece, and it just doesn't feel like that would be right," Phoenix said at a press conference for his upcoming movie "Joker: Folie à Deux" at the Venice Film Festiva, according to People.
"I'm not sure how that would be helpful. So I don't think I will," he added.