Joaquin Phoenix Quits Acting for Drugs?

Joaquin Phoenix announced last week he was quitting acting to pursue his love of music. On Saturday Joaquin appeared at the Che premiere with Bye! and Good written on his knuckles, then according to PageSix, he appeared at a reading looking wasted:

Friends of Joaquin Phoenix are worried about the star, who has had a very public battle with drink and drugs. The two-time Oscar nominee ("Walk the Line" and "Gladiator") showed up to a tribute to Paul Newman last week in San Francisco and "was out of it," said one attendee. Other actors were performing scenes and readings, but Phoenix just got up and walked out. "He wobbled back in a bit later, but it was odd," said our source. "He was slurring his words and was unsteady on his feet." Phoenix gave a weird interview to "Extra" in which he said he was retiring from acting. A rep for Phoenix said, "He’s fine. He just wants to focus on music, and he’ll be at the screening of his film ’Two Lovers’ on Saturday night in LA, and he’s directed a number of music videos over the past couple of years."

Maybe playing Johnny Cash, who also suffered from addiction, wasn’t such a good idea for Joaquin.