Joaquin Phoenix fainted while shooting a scene with Patti LuPone for Beau Is Afraid.

Director Ari Aster made a surprise appearance at a screening of his film Midsommar at a cinema in New York on Saturday, and following a 10-minute preview of his upcoming project, he participated in a Q&A hosted by Emma Stone.

As part of the conversation, Aster recalled how Phoenix “collapsed” during production.

“There was a scene that was very intense for Patti and it was a shot that was on Patti, it was not on him and all of a sudden he fell out of frame,” he said, according to Deadline. “I was really p**sed ’cause it was a really good take. It felt confusing so I went around the corner and he was collapsed.”

The actor has not yet commented on the health scare.

Aster didn’t offer any details about what caused Phoenix to faint, but did note that he knew the situation was serious because the star was “allowing” other people to help him.

“I knew it was bad because he was letting people touch him and people were tending to him and he was allowing it. The point is that he fainted in somebody else’s take, he wasn’t on camera and he was helping them, he was in it for them to the point where he collapsed. It’s very poetic that he collapsed in somebody else’s shot,” the filmmaker added.

Beau Is Afraid, also starring Parker Posey and Amy Ryan, is set to open in U.S. cinemas on 21 April.

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