James McAvoy claims Joaquin Phoenix dropped out of thriller Split two weeks before filming

Phoenix was due to star as the lead in the movie about a person with dissociative identity disorder

James McAvoy has claimed that he replaced Joaquin Phoenix in the psychological thriller Split at the last minute, after the Joker star pulled out just before shooting commenced.

The 2016 film, directed by The Sixth Sense maker M Night Shyamalan, sees three teenage girls locked in a basement after being kidnapped McAvoy’s character, a man with dissociative identity disorder.

The revelation comes weeks after Phoenix’s abrupt departure from a gay romance caused “huge outrage” in Hollywood.

Earlier this year, Phoenix was set to lead an untitled detective love story – that he had taken to director Todd Haynes. However, just five days before production was scheduled to begin, he dropped out of the film after getting “cold feet”, a source told Variety.

While McAvoy appeared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast to discuss his new film Speak No Evil, he caused a stir as he disclosed that this wasn’t the first time Phoenix had pulled such a stunt.

“I’m confident enough to think I’ll do it better. I’m joking!” he said, of his experience replacing the Oscar-winner in Split, for which he had to portray 23 different personalities.

Phoenix was due to star as the lead in the movie about a person with dissociative identity disorder (Getty)

“He’s an amazing actor,” McAvoy said of Phoenix. “I think he’d give a very different performance to the one I did, but I think he’d give an incredible performance.”

Describing his experience of being recruited last-minute to save the production, he added: “Sometimes coming in last minute is the best way.”

He continued: “I think he ditched it two weeks before they started shooting. It was really last minute. I had a couple of weeks [to prepare]. Two weeks. The script was well put-together so a lot of it was clear what I wanted to do straight away.

“A couple of characters took a little longer to find. Patricia came quick. Hedwig took a while.”

The Independent has contacted Phoenix’s representative for comment.

James McAvoy in M Night Shyamalan's film ‘Split’

The Hollywood actor’s departure from the untitled romance earlier this year had reportedly led to a bad taste in the mouths of many in the industry.

Entire sets had been built in Guadalajara, Mexico, where shooting had been due to take place. Phoenix abandoned the project in early July just days before the scheduled shoot, leaving cast and crew in the lurch.

Now, reports are emerging that legal action could ensue, after the decision sparked backlash from industry veterans.

“There’s been a huge amount of outrage,” one studio executive told The Hollywood Reporter.

McAvoy explained that on Split, the crew had been well-prepared which had made the transition much smoother.

“The script was well put together so a lot of it was pretty clear what I wanted to do straight away,” he said.

“There were a couple of characters that took a little bit longer to find. Patricia came real quick, Dennis came real quick. Hedwig took a little while. It wasn’t until the read-through for the table read which I was really nervous for.”

Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga in ‘Joker: Folie a Deux’ (© 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved)

Phoenix was asked about the Haynes film row while attending the Venice Film Festival earlier this month, for the world premiere of Joker: Folie a Deux.

“If I do [comment], I’d just be sharing my opinion from my perspective and the other creatives aren’t here to say their piece, and so I don’t think that would be helpful,” he responded.