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Academy Award winning actor Joaquin Phoenix returned to the Ed Sullivan Theater to appear on The Late Show for the first time in 15 years to promote his new film Eddington. During his appearance, Phoenix issued an apology to David Letterman for his infamously awkward interview back in 2009.

Back in 2009, Joaquin Phoenix appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman in character while filming the mockumentary I’m Not There, which saw Phoenix pretend to retire from acting in order to pursue a career as a rapper.

Phoenix’s appearance on Letterman was so awkward, in fact, that it became one of the first truly viral pop culture moments on the social media era.

During his return to the new iteration of the program, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Phoenix said the interview was one of the worst moments of his life and issued an apology to Letterman.

Joaquin Phoenix returns to The Late Show, issues apology to David Letterman

“When I came on this show with Dave, I 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. And I just want Dave to like, lacerate me. I just want it to be really dangerous,’” Phoenix told Stephen Colbert.

“That was the kind of intention — I just always wanted to get this reaction and see how I would respond to that. So it was beneficial for no one to know, except when needed.”

“It was so uncomfortable. I regret it, I’ll never do it again. I’m so sorry… He [Letterman] might be [watching] and I just need to say, I’m sorry,” Phoenix responded.

Eddington, which was directed by Ari Aster, also stars Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Austin Butler, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, and Micheal Ward.

The summer of 2020-set Neo-Western satirical black comedy will hit theaters this Friday, July 18. You can check out one of the official trailers for Eddington below.