When joaquin phoenix met johnny cash about five years ago, the young actor had no idea that one day he'd be playing the music legend. "We were at a friend's place in L.A." Phoenix says. "We went into the living room after dinner, and he comes in-his hands were shaking really bad by then-and he picks up his guitar, and the moment he touches the strings, the shake is gone." After Cash's wife, June, joined him, the two sang I Stood on the Banks of Jordan" together. "It was one of the most special moments of my life," Phoenix says. But the big thrill came later, when Phoenix learned that Cash was a fan of his Oscar-nominated performance as the evil emperor in "Gladiator." "I'm leaving, and he says," and here Phoenix's voice drops an octave into Cash's country lilt, "I really loved that 'Gladiator.' I really like the way you say, 'Your wife moaned like a whore as they ravaged her again and again and again'." Phoenix laughs: "That's the duality of Johnny: he was very, very family-oriented, and yet he was also a s---kicker."
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