Joaquin Phoenix made an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday, July 15, where he addressed his notorious 2009 interview with David Letterman. During that infamous appearance, Phoenix stayed in character throughout what turned into an awkwardly cringe-worthy conversation.

On Tuesday night, the star said that he originally did the pre-interview in character and “I realized that it was just a little silly, so I called them back and I said, ‘Listen, this is what I’m doing. I’m coming out here and I’m doing this whole thing.’”