Joaquin Phoenix’s car accident put him on the path toward eventual alcohol rehabilitation. While speaking with GQ in 2020, he revealed that the ordeal made him reconsider the choices he was making in life, which included regular partying and drinking. “I wasn’t engaging with the world or myself in the way I wanted to,” shared Phoenix. “I was being an idiot, running around, drinking, trying to screw people, going to stupid clubs,” he added. As the magazine noted, Phoenix’s car crash could’ve ended in tragedy due to his attempt to light a cigarette while the car was leaking gasoline. Fortunately, director Werner Herzog stumbled upon the scene and stopped him.
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Back in 2006, Phoenix thanked Herzog for essentially saving his life. “There was this German voice saying ‘Just relax’,” revealed Phoenix to The Guardian. “There’s something so calming and beautiful about Werner Herzog’s voice,” he continued. “I felt completely fine and safe.” However, Phoenix didn’t get much time to express his gratitude. “I got out of the car and I said thank you,” Phoenix added. “And he was gone.” While speaking with the New York Times in 2020, Herzog recalled a scarier moment, revealing he snatched Phoenix’s lighter from him out of the fear that he wouldn’t heed his warning to not light up. ‘”I knew he must not light his cigarette, because there was gasoline dripping and he would have perished in a fireball,” said Hergoz.
